Puppy Love
by jremme
Summary: Sweets decides to give Brennan and Booth a weeklong challenge to test their interaction skills. Meant to be fluffy cuteness. No angst all you fluff bunnies! Eventual BB, for sure. I have been told that fluff equals BB together! COMPLETE!
1. Meet your new friend

**A/N: Well, I've gone off the deep end yet again and am starting another fic. I tried desperately to let it go, but the idea wouldn't let me be, and continued evolving in my head. I thought of making it a one shot, but there were too many possibilities for it not to be multi-chapter. I'd like to dedicate it to all those reading P&P who are drowning in the flood of angst I've created in that fic. As is my M.O., this is a trial chap. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: meet your new friend**

Dr. Lance Sweets was in the small back room of his office, checking on something. He had a bit of a surprise in store for Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan. The surprise was doing just fine and Sweets smiled. This was going to be an interesting experiment. Their interaction skills were about to be put to the test.

He closed the door to the back room and sat down in his chair, folding his fingers together and patiently waiting for them to arrive. Brennan and Booth entered his office exactly 2 minutes late, 

according to the psychologist's watch. Booth crashed into his chair, while Dr. Brennan seated herself primly in hers.

"Ok, so I was thinking about the case you two told me about last time we met, the one with the baby," Sweets began.

"His name's Andy," Brennan broke in.

"Right, Andy. Well, anyway, I couldn't help but think about how interesting it would have been to see you constantly interacting with him. Particularly you, Dr. Brennan, with your aversion to children."

Brennan frowned. "I do not have an _aversion_ to children. I just don't want any of my own."

"All right, I take that back. Anyway, I devised a project for the two of you to tackle. It'll be weeklong. I've taken the liberty of getting both of you some vacation time. Agent Booth, you'll be working only on Tuesday, and Dr. Brennan, you'll be working on Wednesday."

"Why just one day?" Booth asked, already not liking the idea.

"You'll find that out later on. Does it sound agreeable?"

"I think I'd like to hear what we'll be doing before I agree to anything," Brennan said.

"I was just asking the question as a courtesy. It's already been arranged; you don't really have any choice." Sweets punctuated his statement with a big smile that both Brennan and Booth wanted to wipe off his face.

"Come on Sweets! You can't possibly expect us to agree to this, to go in completely blind," Booth told him. Sweets thought for a moment.

"You're right. I'll throw you a line. Part of the project is going to involve the two of you cohabiting for the week. Where doesn't really matter."

Brennan looked aghast, but Booth looked interested. "Cohabiting? As in living together?"

"That's exactly it." Sweets smiled again. He'd had a feeling that he'd hook Booth with that one. He was totally interested in his partner, and the way he kept trying to deny it was laughable. He watched Booth glance over at his partner's aghast expression.

"It wouldn't be _that_ bad Bones. You look like Sweets is sentencing you to death or something."

"I apologize if I offended you. Do you want to do this?"

"Sure, I mean, it just sounds like us _cohabiting_ for a week, and reporting to Sweets on our interactions." He looked at Sweets. "Is that right?"

Sweets nodded. "Basically." He was leaving out one little detail, but that could wait a while longer.

Brennan looked at her partner, weighing the pros and cons in her head. Finally, she nodded her head in assent.

Sweets grinned devilishly. "Wonderful!" He got up and went to the back room, leaving Brennan and Booth looking at each other slightly confused.

He returned with a small puppy in his arms.

"What is that?" Brennan asked.

"It's a wiener dog!" Booth informed her.

"A what?"

"A wiener dog, Bones."

"It's a dachshund, Agent Booth. Four months old. And it's yours for the week!"

The color drained from both faces as they stared at the puppy squirming in Sweets' arms.

"What do you mean it's ours?" Brennan asked slowly.

"You're taking care of this puppy for the week! You'll interact with it, and each other. Sort of like you did with Andy. Only this time it'll be documented! There's a camcorder in that box!" Sweets juggled the puppy while excitedly gesturing to the box on the table that, until that moment, had gone unnoticed by the other two.

"Sweets…" Booth began but didn't get any further than that. Brennan was just shaking her head.

"There's also a book of baby names and supplies in the box as well. I want you to name the puppy. Whatever you like, it's up to you, as long as you _agree_." He thrust the puppy into Booth's arms and the box into Brennan's. "See you in a week!" he said cheerfully, ushering them to the door.

Before they knew it, they were standing outside the office door, staring at Sweets' name in black print on the door.

"What just happened?" Booth asked.

"We agreed to take care of a puppy for a week," Brennan replied.

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure." He turned from the door and headed down the hallway, still holding the wriggling puppy. Brennan lingered in front of the door for a moment, considering pounding on it until Sweets opened up. In the end, though, she jogged down the hall, catching up with her partner.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Booth asked when they were standing in the front lobby.

"Look and see," she said.

"What? No, I'm not looking."

Brennan rolled her eyes, put the box down, took the puppy from Booth's arms, checked it, and handed it back to him. "It's a girl."

"She's kinda cute," he said, giving her a scratch under the chin. "I always wanted a wiener dog when I was a kid."

"Sweets said it was a dachshund."

"Same thing. Sweets also said we were supposed to cohabit; so where do you want to cohabit, your place or mine?"

Brennan thought for a moment. "Your place. I'll stop by my apartment and get my things, and meet you back at your place."

"Why my place? I was sure you'd want us to stay in your apartment."

"Well, I considered that, but I also considered the fact that the puppy is only four months old."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Most likely she's not house trained. I'll see you in a bit!" She headed for the door with the box, leaving Booth with the puppy. He held her out at arm's length, brown eyes meeting brown eyes.

"You'd better be house trained, or Sweets is dead," he told her. He cradled her once more to his chest and headed out the door with her. His worst fears were confirmed when he put her in the seat next to him in the car only to discover a wet spot on the front of him.

He sighed and eyed the puppy critically. "The first of many, I'm sure. Next time, though, you're getting Bones." He climbed behind the wheel, and began the drive home.

**A/N: So?? To continue, or not to continue; that is the question. Let me know what you thought and thank you for reading!**


	2. the name game

**A/N: Hello, fellow fluff lovers! I will for sure be continuing this fic, so thank you so much for all the feedback. Thanks as well to all who pointed out my little mistake. Can't believe I did that. Anyway, here we go with the next chap. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: the name game**

Booth arrived home with the puppy, putting her on the ground to sniff around, after giving her strict orders not to mess on the floor. He went into his bedroom to change, leaving the door open as he came back out. He groaned as he noticed that she had complied with his order by scrambling up on the couch and messing there instead.

While he was cleaning it up, he realized that Brennan had the box of supplies. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too long. He was still scrubbing away at the couch when Brennan burst through the door, the box in front of her on the ground and the camcorder in her hand.

"Day 1: here we have Booth cleaning up after our puppy. A very heartwarming scene to be sure. But the question remains," she panned the camera around the room. "Where is the puppy? It appears that Booth has managed to lose her after only a few minutes…"

He interrupted her, crossing the room and covering the camera lens with his hand.

"Shut that off Bones!"

She put the camera down but didn't shut it off.

"What? We're supposed to be documenting this, remember?"

"Well, I really didn't want the first documented images to be me scrubbing a mess on my couch."

She smirked. "Too bad."

"You didn't even want to do this, not once you found out about the puppy."

"You're right, but we're stuck with her, so I decided to make the best of it."

"By recording me cleaning up after her?"

"Yes, and you did lose her."

"No, I didn't."

"Then where is she?"

Booth looked around, then wandered down the hall to check his bedroom. He emerged carrying the puppy at arms length.

"This puppy pees more than anything I've ever seen."

"She's most likely marking her new territory." Brennan lifted the camera up again and followed him back to his bedroom to document Booth stripping his bed and putting his bedclothes in the wash.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have done this at your place."

"The reason is on your couch, and now on your bed," Brennan said, zooming in on the small stain that soaked through to the mattress. Booth left and came back with a rag, holding it out to her.

"Your turn."

"Excuse me?"

"I cleaned the last one, so now it's your turn. It's fair that way."

With a sigh she took the rag and handed him the camera, ignoring the wicked smile and chuckle as he took it from her. She began cleaning with him narrating.

"And here we have Bones cleaning up after the puppy. Scrub harder Bones! I don't want a stain. Put your back into it. Come on!" He snapped his fingers.

Brennan shot the camera a glare. "I'll scrub you," she muttered.

"Sorry, what was that?" Booth was still grinning like a madman.

Brennan finished her scrubbing, and tossed the dirty rag at Booth's head. He sidestepped it and picked it up off the floor.

"Now, where is she?" he asked, replacing the lens cap on the camera. They went back out into the living room and found her curled up on the couch, asleep.

"Thank God," Booth said, and moved over to the box Brennan had left in front of the door. "Let's go through this stuff while she's asleep."

They sat on the other side of the couch, and began emptying out the box. The first thing they pulled out was a small pink dog bed.

"Where do you want this?" Brennan asked.

Booth thought for a moment. "Kitchen, I think." Brennan got up and placed the bed in a corner of the kitchen. She came back and they continued rummaging. The food and water bowls went in 

the kitchen near the bed. They filled the bowls with food and water and put the rest of the food on the counter, to make sure the puppy couldn't get into it.

The leash was placed on the coffee table for the time being, and the collar was put next to it, as neither wanted to wake the puppy up to put it on. The toys were also placed in the kitchen.

At the bottom of the box, they found the baby name book and a note from Sweets, wishing them luck and telling them that they had an appointment with a vet on Thursday, along with the address of the veterinary office.

"You wanna pick a name?" Booth asked.

"Might as well."

He opened the book to the half with girls names. "Any particular letter?"

"Doesn't matter to me. Suggest something."

"Ok, let's see. What about Polly?"

Brennan shook her head. "No, I don't like it. Let me see the book." He handed it off to her, sensing a long battle ahead.

"I think I like Wilhelmina. It means 'strong willed warrior'."

"Does that look like a strong willed warrior to you?" Booth pointed at the sleeping puppy.

"No, but that doesn't mean she couldn't be one. Names are very powerful things. The suggestion alone could..."

He cut her off. "No, Bones, it couldn't. Example: your name. You are not the embodiment of your name. And if we name her Wilhelmina, neither will that puppy."

She glared at him for a moment, then relented and continued perusing the book.

"How about Aurora?"

"What's that one mean?"

"Goddess of the Dawn."

"No. Doesn't fit her."

"I disagree. It's a strong name."

"She's a softie! She falls asleep at the drop of a hat, and has poor bladder control. She's not strong! Look, she even has nightmares!" He stopped as he said the last, and they both watched as puppy whimpered in her sleep and began moving her legs, as though running away from something.

They exchanged a look, and Booth picked her up, holding her against his chest. She opened her eyes abruptly upon being moved and the feeling of warmth that followed as he cradled her close. She looked up at him with big doe eyes, and gave him a small lick on the face.

"She is pretty cute Bones."

"I think the puppy's not the only softie here," she replied.

"Here, hold her." He placed the puppy in Brennan's arms. They regarded each other for a moment, and Brennan sighed resignedly.

"She is very cute."

"Told you."

"Now, take her back before she pees on me." Booth took her back and they returned to the name book with the puppy now curling up on Booth's lap.

Brennan paged through the book reading the names to herself. Booth peered over her arm.

"Looking for something in particular?"

"Yes, actually, I wanted to see if there was a name that meant 'daddy's girl'."

Booth rolled his eyes. "She is _not_ a daddy's girl." There was a silence. "And I'm not her daddy. I'm her…caregiver."

"If you say so, but she is clearly a daddy's girl. Look at her. She's perfectly content." She gestured to the puppy.

"You never wanted to hold her. If she's attached to me, it's your own fault."

"Are you saying I'm jealous of the puppy's affection for you?"

"Well, if the shoe fits, Bones…"

She didn't reply, but reached over and stroked the puppy's back with one hand while continuing to go through names. He took the book from her. "My turn to look."

"How about Petunia?"

Brennan gave him the so-so gesture. "I don't think I like Petunia, but maybe you're on the right track with a flower name."

"Ok, how about Rose?"

Brennan shook her head. "She doesn't look like a rose." She thought for a moment. "How about Daisy?"

Booth looked down at the puppy. "I think I like Daisy."

Brennan gave him a little smile. "I do too."

"So, Daisy it is." He flipped through the book until he located it. "It means day's eye."

"That's pretty."

"Yea. Hey Bones, what's your middle name?"

"There is no way I'm telling you that! And why did you want to know?"

"Well she needs a middle name." Brennan's eyebrow shot up. Booth continued. "You know, so I can use it when I get mad at her for peeing all over the place."

"You just want to find out my middle name. Why _my_ middle name anyway? Why not yours?"

"Gee, Bones, I don't know why not mine."

"Sarcasm is not helpful."

"Fine, let's see what works. Daisy Anne…no, Daisy Mae…not that either. How about Daisy Jo?"

"As odd as I find it to give a puppy a middle name; I like Daisy Jo," Brennan assented.

They both looked down at the newly christened Daisy Jo, who looked peaceful and nightmare-free.

"I'll go make us dinner, since I don't think it would be a good idea for you to get up right now," Brennan offered, standing.

"Thanks Bones."

Before she went in to cook, Brennan picked up the camera again, and recorded Daisy sleeping on Booth's lap, his fingers lazily petting her head.

"I'd like to present Daisy Jo," she said for the camera, "who is clearly a daddy's girl."

Booth glanced up and gave her a Look. Brennan smiled at him and put the camera down, heading off to make dinner. Perhaps this arrangement wouldn't be so bad after all. In fact, with the right attitude, it could be very pleasant.

**A/N: Let me know what you thought. I only have one thing I'd like to say concerning this fic. There will be, under no circumstances, any angst!! At best, there may only be a number of small arguments that will be resolved quickly, that's all. Thanks for reading!!**


	3. water fights and bedtime

**A/N: Hello! This is my last day of bedrest, so the updates may not be as crazy from here on out. However, I have to go back to the doctor tomorrow, so who knows? Anyway, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!!**

**Chapter 3: water fights and bedtime**

After Brennan was finished cooking, she went to go get Booth, who carefully picked up the puppy and replaced her on the couch.

As he got up, Brennan eyed him. "Wow, Daisy didn't pee on you. Again."

"Don't remind me."

They sat down to eat, and after a few minutes, Booth felt something brush his leg. He looked down and saw Daisy, her big eyes locked on his. Brennan glanced down as well.

"She certainly has the art of begging down. And don't even think about giving her anything. It's not good for her."

"Aw, come on, Bones, look at her! Just a little bit."

"Absolutely not!" Brennan got up from the table and returned with the camera, focusing on Daisy's begging before placing it on the table.

Booth looked down at Daisy again. "Your mommy's no fun, is she?"

"What did you call me?"

"Well, if you insist on calling me her daddy, then that makes you her mommy, right?"

Brennan let out a breath. "I suppose you're right."

They finished dinner and washed dishes together, while Daisy sniffed around the kitchen, discovering her food and water bowls.

"She's drinking. A lot," Brennan observed. "You know what that means."

"Yea, we gotta start on some house training."

"How?" Brennan picked a wet dish from the sink and began drying it.

"I don't know. Maybe start by just taking her out all the time or something. We need a puppies for dummies book."

"What? No, we don't! We can do this without a book. Somehow."

He grinned and splashed her with the soapy water. "If you say so."

"Hey!" In response, she splashed him back from the rinse sink.

"Oh, you're asking for it Bones."

"You started it!"

"Well, you returned fire." He grabbed the sprayer and aimed it at her.

"Oh, you wouldn't dare!"

"Try me."

"You're setting a bad example." Brennan gestured at Daisy.

"She'll get over it." With that, he turned the water on and sprayed her.

When he stopped, she gazed at him, dripping wet, her mouth hanging open. "I can't believe you just did that! That was incredibly juvenile!"

He averted his eyes, and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry Bones, it was just--"

He was cut off abruptly as she snatched the sprayer from his hand, and turned it on him. His hands flew in front of his face, and he began laughing. She started to laugh too, and replaced the sprayer, shutting off the water.

"That was really devious Bones," he said through their laughter.

"As though I'd actually let you get away with that!"

Their laughter subsided, and they finished up the dishes. Daisy's food bowl was empty and she was sitting next to it, looking at the two of them.

"Hey, wait a minute," Booth suddenly remembered the camera. "Did you leave that camera on?"

"Yea, I think I did." They both glanced over at the camera, lens facing them, the red light on.

"Oh, Sweets is gonna have a field day with our water fight," Booth muttered.

"Maybe it didn't catch it all."

"God, I hope so. I don't even wanna think about what he'd say."

They sat down at the table, and reviewed the footage. The entire thing was caught on tape.

"Way to go Bones."

"We're supposed to document; I just figured it would be a good idea to leave it on sometimes." She watched as she sprayed Booth on the small screen. "That's a good look for you-drowned rat."

"Me? Look at you! I nailed you!"

"And I nailed you right back!" She shut the camera off. "We could delete it," she suggested.

"Nah, we shouldn't. We're playing by the rules remember?"

She nodded. "Ok, I'm getting cold. I'm gonna go change out of these wet clothes."

"And I'll mop up the floor." She left down the hall to his bedroom where she'd dumped her suitcase, and Booth proceeded to clean the floor, Daisy weaving around his feet.

"So, what do you think of your mommy, huh? You like her? I do," he said to Daisy. Her ears pricked up at the sound of his voice. He finished up with the mopping. "I suppose I should take you out, and you can try to be a big girl." He walked to the coffee table and picked up the collar and leash.

"I wish Sweets hadn't gotten everything in pink," he thought aloud as he fastened the collar around her neck and clipped the leash to it. "But you do look pretty, yes you do." He smiled at the puppy and led her to the door.

"Let's go. Hey, Bones! I'm taking Daisy out; you wanna come too?"

Brennan appeared in sweat pants and a t-shirt, pulled her shoes on, and grabbed the camera.

"I was just getting comfortable."

"Oh, come on, this is a big moment." They headed out the door, him pulling her out by the hand, into the back lot.

"You can do it Daisy. Please," Booth begged the little puppy. Brennan zoomed on his pleading face and then on Daisy's nonchalant one.

"I don't think you're getting through."

"She just needs time. We just got out here after all."

They waited and waited. Daisy sniffed around the yard, then lay down on the grass at Booth's feet and yawned. "Big moment, huh?" Brennan asked.

"Well, we can't really expect her to do it the first time."

They gave up, and took Daisy back inside. The minute she was through the door, she peed on the floor.

Booth cast his eyes heavenward, and went to find a rag.

"That's right it's your turn!" Brennan gleefully recorded the cleanup.

"Do you need to record every time she messes?"

"Yes, I feel that it's important to document her house training progress, or rather, the lack of progress. Now, scrub!"

He glared at her and got on his hands and knees to clean the mess, facing away from her. She played around with the zoom button, chuckling wickedly every time the camera zoomed in on him.

"What are you doing?" He turned his head to look at her. "You'd better not be zooming in on my ass."

She didn't reply.

"You are!? God, that's the last thing I want Sweets to see! Cut it out or I'm banning you from the camera."

"You can't threaten me! I'll record as much as I want to!" She laughed. "Are you _blushing_?"

"Of course not!" He stood up and pitched the rag at her. It fell over the camera.

She tossed it back at him, and aimed the camera at Daisy. "Time to put her to bed."

Booth picked her up and placed her in her bed. She climbed out immediately. He put her back.

"Stay there." She looked up at him with sad eyes. "You gotta stay in the bed Sweets got for you. It's soft. See?" He pushed down on the bed to illustrate this. "Ok?" She didn't move. "That's my girl."

"Uh, Booth?"

"Yea?"

"She can't understand you."

He shrugged. "I'm interacting with her." She shut the camera off and headed down the hall to brush her teeth.

"You'll be all right," he told Daisy, scratching her ears. "Good night. We'll try going out again in the morning. I know you can do it. Think positive." He left her looking at him and headed to his bedroom.

"Oh, no, I don't think so Bones." She was lying in the middle of his bed, having made it with clean sheets before climbing in. She was watching the video footage.

"You were most definitely blushing earlier, Booth. It's plain as day on this camera," she said, ignoring him.

"You're on the couch."

"I don't think so."

"If we were in your apartment, I'd be on the couch. But we're at my place, so I get the bed."

"No."

"Don't make me remove you, and you know I will."

She grabbed the edge of the mattress with one hand, and a clump of sheets with the other. "I'd like to see you try."

They stared at each other for a moment, challenging each other. Then Booth stepped closer to her and began prying her fingers, one by one, from the mattress. She moved her other hand to swat his hand away, and he took the window of opportunity and grabbed her around the waist, heaving her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

She yelled and began beating him half-heartedly with her fists until he put her down.

"Never do that again!" she warned.

"Don't give me cause to then." He was grinning at her, and although she tried to be mad, it was infectious and one broke out across her face as well.

"If you want it that bad, Booth, it's yours."

"Wait a second, are you deferring to me? Give me that camera, I gotta record this!"

"No, no, no! There's no need to record it! Good night." She grabbed the camera and carried it out of the bedroom. Once she had shut the door, he changed and got into bed.

Another minute passed, and there was a knock at the door, followed by Brennan's voice.

"Daisy's lying on the couch. She's right in the middle of it."

"Do you want me to move her?"

"No, she looked like she was close to falling asleep." Brennan opened the door and came in, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"So, what do you wanna do?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we could share."

"Share the bed?"

"Well, yea, I mean, there's plenty of room, right? And if we each stay on our own side, we'll be fine. It's actually a little ridiculous that there's such a stigma about men and women sharing a bed. It isn't always sexual in nature; doesn't have to be." She was rambling and she knew it.

"I suppose it's pretty harmless," he said, and moved over to the far side of the bed.

"Thank you." She crawled in and pulled the covers up to her chin. "So that was day one."

"Yea, that was day one. Six left to go."

"It was a pretty nice day," she said, staring up at the ceiling.

He nodded in agreement.

"Good night Booth."

"Good night Bones."

There was silence and then they heard high pitched whimpering cries.

"She's lonely," Booth said.

"She's gotta learn."

The crying continued.

"Come on Bones, have a heart."

"No way."

"She's not gonna stop."

"She'll have to eventually. If we give in to her, then she'll expect it every night."

"Please…mommy."

Brennan sighed in defeat. "Fine. Go get her. I'm nice and warm."

Booth hopped out of bed, disappeared down the hall, and returned with Daisy in his arms. He put her on the end of bed. "There ya go." By the time he got back in bed, she was curled up between their pillows.

"She wants to be close to us, Bones."

Brennan smiled. "It is endearing."

"Good night Bones. Good night Daisy."

"Good night Booth."

"Say good night to Daisy."

"She can't understand me!"

"Just do it."

"Fine. Good night Daisy."

"See, that wasn't so bad."

"Go to sleep Booth. I'm tired."

All three were tired, and in no time they were all fast asleep.

**A/N: I think I'm getting a toothache from this fic! So…much…fluff! It's all good though. I like writing fluff. More fun than angst, for sure. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Daisy's dress & Brennan's bra

**A/N: Ok, firstly, I'm beyond thrilled that you all are liking this fluff-fest. I hope you'll continue to like it. So, without further ado, enjoy!**

**Chapter 4: Daisy's dress and Brennan's bra**

_**Saturday**_

At approximately eight o'clock the next morning Daisy opened her inquisitive brown eyes and yawned, blasting her new daddy's face with her dog breath. He didn't stir, however, which had been her prime objective. She was awake, after all, so shouldn't he be awake too? She whined softly, sniffing at his face and snuffling loudly when his hair tickled her nose. Still nothing. She was hungry. She then rolled out the big guns, giving his face a bath. That did the trick.

Booth was in the middle of a wonderful dream that would have given Sweets a heart attack and earned him a major ass-kicking from Brennan. He ignored the sound of the yawn and the bad smell that wafted across his nostrils, his sleep addled brain not yet registering the fact that he wasn't alone in bed. He then felt something cold and wet go across his face, up to his hairline, whereupon there was a snuffling noise, then quiet.

It was odd that such things would happen in the dream. He had never known Brennan to have bad breath, plus there was no way she should be yawning. And the cold, wet thing…he could only imagine what that was. Then he felt the tongue, licking his face all over. It was too small to be Brennan's and…again, even for a dream, it was slightly strange.

His brow furrowed and he cracked open an eye, only to be met with a small pink tongue that obviously had no regard for where it was licking. He raised a fist to his eye and wiped it, opening the other one, and focusing on the small puppy that was still busily licking his face as though her life depended on it. He put both hands around her and lifted her up and away from his face. She leaned towards it though, still attempting to reach it with her tongue.

"Hey, you," he whispered to her. At the sound of his voice, her tail began to instantly wag. He suddenly remembered the previous night, and glanced over at the other side of the bed. It was empty. He listened, but couldn't hear anyone in the bathroom. He looked back at Daisy.

"Let's go find Mommy, huh? Then we can try to go out again." He got out of bed, the puppy tucked under his arm, her tail still going a mile a minute. He glanced over his bedroom, eyes peeled for messes. He found two.

"At least you didn't go in the bed," he mumbled, trying to find a bright side. It was his partner's turn to clean up anyhow. That thought brought a grin to his face, and he ambled out into the hallway.

"Bones?" he called, carrying Daisy into the living room. He stopped short, noticing her on the couch, curled up and asleep. He wondered when she'd moved. He couldn't recall her leaving the bed. He watched her for a moment, noting the small movements and facial twitches that indicated a dream. He located Daisy's leash, clipped it on her and moved to the door.

A thought hit him then, and he retrieved the camcorder, setting it up on the coffee table so it could record her sleeping. She'd probably kill him later, but it'd be worth it. He led the puppy outside and stood in the center of the grass patch, looking down at her while she looked up at him, presumably having no idea what she was supposed to do.

"Come on Daisy! Just try…for me. Try for Daddy! I know you can do it!" She stared at him with those liquid brown eyes of hers, pleading with him to tell her what to do, to make her understand.

"Look, Daisy, here's the deal. If you keep messing in the house, Bones will keep recording me cleaning, and that's just humiliating for us both. I know it's easier for you to go in the house, but you need to be a big girl; for both our sakes."

Her tail moved back and forth, but it was obvious to Booth that he wasn't going to get anything out of her that morning.

"We'll try again later," he informed her. He glanced at his watch as he walked her back inside. "Maybe Mommy's awake."

And, indeed, she was. Booth glanced at the coffee table, and noted that the camcorder was missing. Brennan, hearing the door shut, poked her head around the corner.

"I made coffee." Her head disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Thanks." He unclipped the leash and set it back in its designated place.

"Did she do anything?" Brennan asked.

"Nope. There's messes in the bedroom for you to clean up though."

"Mess_es_? Oh no, we agreed to take turns; therefore, one of those is all yours."

She had him there. "Ok, so which do you want? Liquid or solid?" He regretted giving her the choice as soon as the question left his mouth.

"Solid." She took off down the hall with a paper towel, and returned after flushing it.

"There, done in mere seconds." She grinned at him almost evilly. "Now, go clean up yours. If you hurry, I won't record it."

He glared at her briefly, and left to clean. When he came back, she was sitting at the table with her coffee mug, sipping thoughtfully. He saw that she'd fed Daisy, and the puppy was happily munching away.

"Speaking of recording, where is the camcorder?" he asked her, joining her at the table.

Without skipping a beat, she replied, "I hid it."

"Why?"

"Because when I woke up, I found that it was recording me sleeping. Not liking that one bit, I decided to hide it where you would never find it."

He nodded slowly. "We'll see about that. In the meantime though, I have another question." Before he could state the question, she answered.

"Because both you and Daisy snore. I had to move."

"How'd you know what I was going to ask?"

She winked at him, "My gut."

He smiled at her. "Didn't think you had one."

She finished her mug and put it in the sink, changing the subject. "Rebecca called while you were out with Daisy. She's dropping Parker off at noon."

"Good. I can't wait for him to see Daisy." He picked the puppy up, holding her at face level. "Hear that? Your big brother's coming for a sleep over!"

Brennan raised her eyebrow at him. "That's slightly disconcerting."

"What is?"

"Parker being Daisy's big brother."

"Why?"

"I'm just saying it raises certain images, that's all," She moved into the living room and sat on the couch.

"Images like?"

"For example, you plus Rebecca equals dachshund puppy."

It's was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "That's just creepy Bones. You know what I meant."

"I do know what you meant, but it also throws the whole family name thing into chaos. If Parker is Daisy's brother, and his mother's Rebecca, and I'm supposed to be Daisy's mother, then what is the relationship between Daisy and Rebecca? Does Daisy have two mothers, or is Rebecca some sort of stepmother?"

"Ok…what?" Booth was confused.

"Never mind. We have two hours until Parker gets dropped off. What do you wanna do?"

"I don't know about you but I'm gonna find that camcorder."

She snorted. "Good luck."

They were saved further conversation by the sound of a package hitting the door. Booth opened it, and came back with small box wrapped in brown paper. It had been sent express, and a groan escaped his lips as he glanced at the return address.

"It's from Sweets."

Brennan frowned. "He must have mailed it right after we left yesterday for it to get here so soon. Open it."

He did so, first taking the note that lay inside and reading it aloud.

_Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan,_

_I deduced that you'd end up at Booth's because of the fact that the puppy isn't house trained. If you're reading this: Am I good or what? Anywho, I realized right after you left that I'd forgotten to put some things in the box. I'll see you next Friday and don't forget to bring in the camcorder. I'll bet there'll be some interesting footage._

_Dr. L.M. Sweets_

"Wonder what the 'M' stands for?" Booth wondered after reading the letter.

"Who cares about the 'M'? Let's see what he sent," Brennan pulled the contents of the package closer to her, leaving Booth to guess what Sweets' middle name could possibly be.

"Maybe Michael or Matthew…or Marie," he laughed at this and Brennan sighed.

"Let's see what's in here." She pulled out a bag of puppy treats. "Maybe these will help with house training." She placed them on the table, and in seconds there was a puppy sniffing crazily and putting her front paws on the table, trying to reach the treat bag. "Obviously she's had these before."

The next item was a bottle of puppy shampoo, which she carried into the kitchen and placed by the sink. When she returned, Booth was holding up the last item, a goofy smile on his face. "Look, Bones, isn't it cute?"

Brennan eyed the little pink sundress her partner was holding up. "It's adorable, but what's it for?"

He looked at her like she'd grown another head. "It's for Daisy of course. So she looks pretty."

"We're supposed to put the dress on the dog?"

"Yea." He scooped up Daisy, thwarting her attempts to get at the treats, and pulled the dress on over her head. He smoothed it down and placed her back on the ground.

"She looks ridiculous. Booth; dogs aren't supposed to wear dresses."

"Well, Daisy does. Sweets wouldn't have sent it if we weren't supposed to put it on her."

"Very well then."

Booth stood up and threw away the empty package. "Now, to find that camcorder before Parker gets here. I want to record his reaction."

"We can still do that. _I'll_ record it."

"Nope. I'm gonna find it." There was a pause, and then he asked, "Can I get a hint at least?"

"No hints. You recorded me sleeping and you're paying the price." She looked at him smugly, and got up and followed him as he left the room to begin searching, Daisy at his heels.

He started in the kitchen, moving from there to the living room, the hall closet, Parker's room, and the bathroom. Now, they were standing in the middle of his bedroom. It had to be in here. It wasn't anywhere else.

"You're looking in all the spots where _you_ would hide it Booth. You need to think like me."

"Was that a hint Bones?"

"Yes, it was, because you're taking way too long. We don't have all day."

"Ok, think like you. Hopefully this won't make my head explode. Where would you hide something you never wanted me to find?" He thought for a moment, biting his lower lip as he did so. She watched him, the smug grin still on her face. Even if he did figure out where she put it, there was no way he'd actually be able to bring himself to touch it.

The thinking didn't appear to be getting him anywhere, and she noticed his gaze travel the room, back and forth until at last falling on her suitcases.

"Aha!" He practically flew to them, picked them up, and set them on the bed. Sure of himself, he unzippered the first and leafed through the pants and shirts within, coming up empty. Brennan just watched, an amused smile replacing the smug grin.

He opened the slightly smaller one, containing her toiletries and undergarments. He recoiled at the sight, his hand stopping just short of touching the neatly folded piled of socks, bras, and panties.

"It's in there, isn't it?" he asked. Her stifled laughter confirmed his suspicion. No way in hell was he going to get that camera now.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to reach in and grab it. You're far too prudish," she said between chuckles.

"I am not _prudish_ Bones. I'm just slightly uncomfortable about touching your…woman things."

"They're _bras_ Booth; bras and panties. They won't bite. On the contrary, they're quite soft…you're blushing again!"

"Am not."

"You are! I guess this means you don't want the camera as badly as you thought you did."

A metaphorical light bulb appeared above Booth's head and he grabbed the suitcase and dumped its contents out on the bed. There it was. The camcorder. The only thing stopping him now was the fact that there was a bra now draped over it.

He swallowed and with two fingers he gingerly picked up the bra as though it was on fire and removed it from the camcorder, not thinking about it being on the floor as he let it drop. Then he 

grabbed the camera swiftly and ran with it out of room, Daisy following and making short yipping sounds, the bra covering most of her body and dragging along the floor.

"Hey!" Brennan yelled and took off after them, catching up to Daisy first and pulling her bra off the puppy body. She cornered Booth.

"Give it back!"

"No way! You have to share the camera. What would Sweets think if he knew you weren't sharing?"

In answer, she waved the bra in his face. He didn't recoil as he had when previously faced with her bras, instead he looked more closely at it, sudden humor evident on his face. He shot her that cocky grin that made her both want to slap him and kiss him.

"Ya know, I always thought you'd be a bigger size than that."

Her eyes widened, her mouth opened into an 'O', and, to his delight, her face reddened. She pulled the bra away from his face, and hurriedly took off back to his room to put it away.

Booth looked down at Daisy in the pink dress. "What do you think? Should we follow her?"

Daisy looked at him and wagged her tail, which Booth took as a definite yes. He turned the camcorder on and headed down the hall to his bedroom, Daisy following closely behind him.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! I know it's been awhile since I updated this, so hopefully this chap earned some forgiveness. Thanks for reading!**


	5. big brother and the babysitter

**A/N: For those of you reading 'what's in a name?' it will be updated soon…I hope. I just keep getting ideas for this one! So, here I am updating again! A good thing? I think so. A couple of things to address before we launch into this chap. One, it's been asked for Brennan to get revenge on Booth for his bra size comment. She will, in her own way, in this chap. Also, I've gotten asked about a kiss. Well, it's lookin to be next chap, barring any tangents I may go off on. So there we go. Enjoy!!**

**Chapter 5: big brother and the babysitter**

_**Saturday**_

"Come on Bones, I didn't mean it! It was just a way to get you to stop waving it in my face!"

They were seated on opposite sides of couch, by Brennan's choice. Her arms were folded and she wasn't looking at him.

"Bones, please, I already apologized like a dozen times!"

"Could you have been any more tactless?" she finally spoke.

He considered for a moment. "Honestly, maybe."

She unfolded her arms and turned to face him. "Let's just drop it ok?"

"I _am_ sorry."

"I know you are. We still have some time before Parker gets here. Maybe we could take Daisy for a walk?"

"That sounds good. But she keeps the dress on."

"Booth, having it on in the house is one thing, but…"

"It stays on. She looks cute."

"I'm giving in to you way too much."

"And I'm really enjoying it. Let's go!" He grabbed the leash, located Daisy in the kitchen getting a drink and clipped her leash on. They stood in front of the door and he handed the leash over to Brennan.

"Why don't you take her? She likes you more after all."

"I can't."

"Why?" Brennan's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Because she's small. I mean, it's one thing to stand out in the yard with her, but a walk…in public…"

"I don't understand."

Booth attempted to explain, avoiding her eyes like the plague.

"She's small, and I'm a man, and…" he trailed off again, making gestures with his hands that she guessed were supposed to help her understand what he was talking about. She thought for a moment, and then her eyes widened and a knowing grin came upon her face as she nodded her head.

"I see what you're trying to explain. You're worried about people making some sort of connection between Daisy's size and the size of your penis!"

Her grin turned into a laugh. "That's ridiculous!" She took a few breaths to calm her laughter and then exploded into a fresh fit as she saw the look on his face. "You're blushing again!"

"It's not ridiculous Bones. It's a legitimate concern," he said evenly.

"No one is going to think that Booth. It's all in your head." She shook her head at the absurdness of the statement. "There's absolutely no scientific basis for any kind of correlation between the 

size of a man's dog and his penis size. Besides, I'm sure you have absolutely no problem in that…area." Now it was she who was avoiding his eyes.

"Are you trying to reassure me?"

"Yes."

"Try harder. You're taking her."

Something passed over her eyes, and she thrust the leash in his hands. "No, I'm not. If you're so convinced that people will come to that irrational conclusion, then, considering your earlier comment to me, I think you should take her."

"You're using this as some sort of petty revenge?"

"Yep, let's go." And she grabbed the camcorder and took off out the door, leaving Booth with the leash.

He looked down at the puppy, and said to her quietly, "Try and make yourself look as big as possible."

They walked down the street together, and Booth was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that every man they passed was laughing and pointing at him, and every woman was giggling and whispering to whoever was near her.

"You are being completely nonsensical Booth," she told him, noticing how incredibly uncomfortable he looked and how his eyes kept shifting to those around them. "Just relax and enjoy the morning. It's very nice out." She kept the smirk on her face though, secretly enjoying his uneasiness.

The high point of the walk was when they went through the park and Daisy peed in the grass. It would have been even better if she'd done it when they'd taken her out for that purpose, but still, it was her going outside, which meant she wouldn't be messing inside, at least for a little while. Brennan caught most of the crowning achievement, and Booth's extensive praise of the act, on tape

When they arrived back, Daisy attacked her water dish, and Brennan poured them each a glass of iced tea from the pitcher in the fridge. They'd just sat down and gotten relaxed when there was a knock at the door.

Booth got up and opened it to reveal Parker and Rebecca, who handed him Parker's overnight bag. Brennan took the camcorder, and began to record.

"He's already had lunch. I'll pick him up tomorrow afternoon. I'm not quite sure exactly when yet, but I'll let you know." She peeked inside and noticed Brennan on the couch with the camera, with Daisy sitting in Booth's spot. Parker noticed too, and raced inside.

"Dr. Bones! And a puppy!! Is he for me?"

"Yea, is he?" Rebecca asked after giving Brennan a polite smile and a wave. "Cause you know I'm allergic."

"Actually, _she_ is mine and Bones'." Brennan moved the camera and zoomed in on Booth and Rebecca.

"You and Dr. Brennan got a puppy together?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"What? No! Our therapist gave her to us to take care of for the week."

"You're in therapy with Dr. Brennan?" Her eyebrow remained quirked.

"Yea, couples therapy."

"Couples therapy?! You're keeping something from me Seeley. Now spill."

"Not like that. We're taking couples therapy to help our partnership. Our work partnership…for work."

"Whatever you say. Just make sure his clothes are free of dog hair when he leaves ok?"

Booth nodded, and Parker came back to his mother for a hug and kiss goodbye.

"Have fun with Daddy and Dr. Brennan sweetheart. I'll see you tomorrow." She left and Parker ran back over to the puppy. Brennan shut the camera off and placed it on the coffee table.

"What's his name?"

Brennan lifted Daisy up so the boy could see her underside. "It's a girl Parker. See the…"

"Ok!" Booth cut in. "Her name is Daisy Jo," he told his son.

"Can I play with her?"

"Yea, Sweets left us some toys, right?"

"They're in the kitchen," Brennan replied. Booth took the camera and he and Parker headed to the kitchen for the toys, and then to Parker's room. Brennan leaned into the back of the couch and sipped her iced tea, listening with a grin as Booth told Parker to let him know _immediately_ if Daisy made a mess.

After recording the two for awhile, he came back and crashed on the couch next to her.

"I don't feel like doing anything for the rest of the day Bones."

"Me either. It's kinda scary, not having anything to do."

"Maybe for you. I kinda like it."

"You want lunch? I could cook something," she offered.

"Nah, we can just snack. I have popcorn we can have later."

She nodded her head and felt herself relax. His arm went around her and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Perhaps a nap is in order." She yawned, deciding not to address their contact. She was comfortable and content. It was a nice feeling.

"Knock yourself out. I'll stay up and listen for Parker and Daisy."

Brennan felt her eyes close. When she woke up again it was early evening. Parker was watching a DVD with a bowl of popcorn in his lap. Daisy was sneaking the occasional piece and if the boy noticed, he didn't care. She was laying on the couch with a blanket draped over her. She sat up and stretched.

"Parker, where's your dad?"

"On the phone," he replied, not looking up from the movie.

Booth came back into the living room a few minutes later, still clutching the phone.

"Hey Parker, Grandma's on the phone. You wanna talk to her?"

"Yea!" He jumped up, leaving the bowl of popcorn for Daisy, and took the phone from Booth.

Booth grabbed the bowl from the floor and put it on the kitchen counter out of Daisy's reach. He sat down by her and looked at the TV screen.

"Finding Nemo," he said.

"What?"

"The movie. It's Finding Nemo."

She nodded.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

"Yes, I did. I feel refreshed. I didn't mean to sleep the entire afternoon though. You should have woken me."

He shrugged. "Didn't wanna wake you. You hungry?"

"Yes. But I can wait until dinner."

Further conversation was cut short as a knock sounded from the door. Booth got up and opened it a crack. He let out a sigh and rolled his eyes, opening the door further to reveal Sweets, grinning like an idiot from the other side of the door.

"What the hell are you doin' here Sweets?"

"I came to babysit! Where is she?" Booth stood aside to let him in, and pointed at the puppy curled on the couch, mourning the loss of the popcorn bowl.

Sweets' smile became wider, if that was possible. "You put the dress on her; good. What did you name her?"

"Daisy," Brennan replied. "What _are_ you doing here Dr. Sweets? We don't need a babysitter."

"Oh yes you do! I'm going to babysit Daisy while you two go out for some Mommy and Daddy alone time!"

"Excuse me?" Brennan asked.

"I'm guessing since it was your first full day with her that it's been a long one. I thought I'd come over and relieve you for an evening. I have an itinerary all planned out for you."

"We can't go out Sweets. My son Parker is here too, and well, I just don't feel safe leaving him here without an adult present." He snickered.

Sweets' smile vanished for a split second before returning in full force. "I assure you Agent Booth, I am perfectly capable. I have siblings and younger cousins that I've watched many times, and I'm CPR and first aid certified. You have nothing to worry about. Regarding Daisy, though, I don't clean messes. Just so you know. I will attempt to take her out, however."

Booth looked over at Brennan. "What do you say Bones?"

"It's acceptable to me."

"Good. Go get changed, both of you. Something nice."

"I don't have anything nice Dr. Sweets. I packed casual."

"Not to worry Dr. Brennan." Sweets pulled a garment bag out from where he'd sat it in the hallway. "Now go."

Parker returned from his phone conversation and went back to watching Finding Nemo. Before he left to change, Booth made the introduction. "Parker, this is Dr. Sweets. He's gonna stay with you while I go out with Dr. Bones, ok?"

"Ok."

After he'd changed, he went back out and began scribbling phone numbers down. "All right Sweets, this is my cell number, Bones' cell phone, Rebecca's cell and home numbers, fire department, hospital, and poison control. If you have to use any of those last three, you're a dead man."

"It'll be fine Agent Booth. Go have a good time."

Booth handed the paper to Sweets, and continued talking. "Bedtime is at nine. No exceptions. Only G rated movies, they're in the cabinet there. He can show you. There's a pizza in the freezer if he gets hungry again. He knows where his pajamas and everything else is kept. He likes a bedtime story before bed. We've been reading the books on the top shelf, but if he wants something different that's fine too. He also…"

He stopped short as Brennan stepped into the living room.

"Wow, Sweets. Nice job," he murmured, not even noticing that Sweets had taken the camcorder and was recording his reaction to her.

Brennan had unzipped the garment bag, opting to change in the bathroom. It was the definition of a little black dress. It had spaghetti straps and dipped down low in the back. The neckline showed just the right amount of cleavage without being sleazy, though it wasn't quite as modest as she would've liked. It was knee length, and flattered her every curve. No way Sweets had picked it out himself.

She kept her hair down, brushing it until it was soft and shiny. Then she looked in the mirror. She looked decent. Wait a second, was this supposed to be a date? Her eyes narrowed at the thought. No, it didn't necessarily have to be a date. Just a fun evening between friends.

Although, she decided, she wouldn't necessarily mind if it was supposed to be a date. She thought about it for a moment, concluding that, in the end, it was a date. This wasn't going to be some casual dinner at the diner.

She immediately felt eyes on her as she ventured into the living room. She met Booth's appreciative gaze almost shyly, even more so as she observed Sweets recording. She'd murder him for it later. She bit her lip, and sighed quietly.

"Shall we go?"

Booth broke out of his trance. "Yea, I'm ready. Sweets, you got all the info I gave you?"

"Yes, Agent Booth. Go and have fun. Everything's taken care of. Just give your names." He handed Booth a sheet, their itinerary, and ushered them towards the door, shutting it behind them. Then he turned to Parker.

"So, Parker, do you like s'mores?"

**A/N: Hope you liked it!! I personally do, but that's me. Let me know. I appreciate all the feedback! Thanks for reading!!**


	6. dates and pinky swears

**A/N: Well, folks are asking for an update, and I think I've made you all wait long enough! I've also gotten requests for some Parker/Sweets interaction, which wasn't in my original thinking for this chap, but I thought it an excellent idea, and included some. Enjoy!!**

**Chapter 6: dates and pinky swears**

_**Saturday night**_

The second Booth had shut the door behind them, he turned to Brennan. "Did I just leave my son, my only son, with Sweets?"

"Yes you did."

"Why did I do that?"

"I have no idea. Perhaps it was because that, deep down, you trust him and agree that he's capable. Or it could be that you do need a break, as I do."

"I must be going insane. What am I doing?" He made a lunge for the doorknob, but Brennan blocked him.

"It will be fine. You can call and check up on them later." She took his arm and gently pulled him from the door, leading him out to the car.

"Sweets' itinerary says to take a left at the next stoplight." Brennan read out directions as Booth drove. "No, not that stoplight!"

"You said the next stoplight!"

"The next stoplight after this one. Now, you'll have to go around the block."

After a good 20 minutes of driving, they arrived at their destination. An Italian restaurant neither had ever been to before. It was tucked away amongst larger buildings and easy to miss.

"Here we go," Booth said, opening his door. Brennan made to get out of hers as well, but before she could he had locked all the doors, going around to her side and then unlocking them so he could open the door for her.

She glared at him, but it was a half hearted one. "If you really wanted to open my door for me, you just should've asked."

"Would you have let me?"

"No. But it still would have been polite to ask."

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Sweets had raided Booth's cabinets, finally coming up with a bag of marshmallows, and a box of graham crackers. He hadn't been able to locate any chocolate bars, but he had found some chocolate chips.

Parker was finishing his movie, so Sweets figured he had time for a phone call. He dialed in the number and listened to it ring before a woman picked up the other end.

"Hello?"

"It's me. They just left."

"Excellent!! How did she like the dress?"

"She put it on. I'm not sure how much she liked it though. Thanks for picking it out. I never could have done that on my own."

"Well, thank you for telling me about all this. I'll have to pay them a little visit in the near future, just to see how things are going." Angela paused in thought for a moment. "Oh, I have one more question. How did Booth like the dress?"

"He was borderline speechless. She looked almost shy when she saw him staring at her. It was very interesting behavior and I caught it all on tape."

"You did?! I wanna see!!"

"Nope, sorry. Doctor/Patient confidentiality."

"That's BS! I'm the best friend! I deserve to see."

"Sorry, Angela. Look I gotta go. Finding Nemo's finished and I have s'mores to make."

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Sweets put the DVD away and led Parker into the kitchen.

"Have you made these before?"

"Yep. Lots of times. Dad always lets me have extra chocolate and extra marshmallows on mine." Parker looked at him seriously, but Sweets had his doubts. That was a lot of sugar and Booth didn't seem like the type to let his kid overindulge in sugar. On the other hand, you were only young once.

"All right, if you say so." He handed Parker two graham crackers and watched as the boy piled on the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Daisy lurked around their feet, hoping for spills.

"Whoa, Daisy, you can't have any of this," Sweets told her, and located the dog food. Once Daisy was happily munching, he turned back to Parker. He had finished putting his s'more together and Sweets was impressed by how high he'd managed to stack the marshmallows and chocolate. It was a miniature tower really. He figured Parker wouldn't even be able to taste the graham crackers.

Sweets made his own, and put them in the microwave to melt. His was fine, but Parker's, predictably, came out a melty, gooey mess that also exploded inside the microwave with a wet popping sound. Sweets opened the door and winced at the chocolate marshmallow goop that coated most of the inside surface of the microwave.

He handed Parker his s'more after putting it on a plate, and sent him to the table to sit down with it. Then he searched the kitchen for a dishcloth to clean the microwave with.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Booth gave their names at the reservation desk and they were shown to a table. After sitting down, Brennan eyed the restaurant. It was very nice. The interior was beautiful and tasteful and soft music floated throughout the room from the string quartet in a corner. While she was looking around, Booth was looking at her. More accurately, he was looking at her chest. She decided to call him on it.

"You know, for me having such small breasts, you certainly like to stare at them a lot," she said. She wasn't mad about it per se, and made sure her voice had a teasing tone to it.

He immediately averted his eyes, clearing his throat and mumbling an apology. The next few minutes were spent looking at the menus and placing their orders. Booth looked like he was about to say something, then seemed to think better of it, excusing himself to call home.

Brennan watched him leave, the thought springing unbidden into her mind that his ass looked _really_ good in those pants. She shook her head. What was she thinking? She scanned the room, her eyes falling on an unattractive waiter. All inappropriate thoughts then ceased to exist in her mind.

Booth stood outside, leaning against the wall of the restaurant, his phone to his ear.

"Sweets? How's everything going? ...Good. I forgot to tell you. Absolutely no sugar before bed, all right? Otherwise, he'll never get to sleep. Also, Daisy slept on my pillow last night, so I don't know what she'll do tonight. She'll probably just hang out with you until we get back. If she and Parker do something cute, please record it…Thanks. I'll call later, ok…Bye."

Closing his phone and putting it back in his pocket, he went back in to Brennan. Their food and drinks had arrived while he was gone, and she swallowed a mouthful and looked up at him as he sat down. "How are they doing?"

"So far so good." He seemed more relaxed now that he knew that his building wasn't going to go up in flames or anything like that.

They ate their dinner and made easy conversation, nothing too serious. Mostly, they discussed their schedule with Daisy and what they were going to do with her and Parker the next day. It was decided that the park was a good idea. That way both the boy and the puppy could run off some steam.

Finally, after more thought, Booth asked, "Hey Bones, was this supposed to be a date? Do you know?"

"I was thinking about that earlier, actually. I believe it's meant to be. Of course, we don't have to conform to that. It can be whatever we want it to be." She waited for his response.

"I think I'd like it to be a date." He averted his eyes from hers again, but hers didn't leave him.

"All right. I would like that too."

They both nodded, and then Brennan realized with horror that the awkwardness was about to set in. No, no, it couldn't. She was beginning to have fun. She had to say something.

"Let's dance," she blurted. Yes, that was fine. Completely innocent. After all, they'd done it before. Nice and platonic. With Booth. Whom she was out with for the evening. On a date. Maybe not such a good idea. Oh, well. It was already said.

"It's just the string quartet Bones. There's not a whole lot of extra room out there."

"Then let's do it outside. Are you done?" She berated herself mentally. He'd given her an out, and she had refused to take it. Why?

"Yea." He was giving her a curious look.

"Then come on!" They made sure their bill had been taken care of before going out to the parking lot. She stopped at a spot near a street light, but still hidden in shadow. She inched close to him and wrapped her arms around him, feeling his go around her waist. She noted with satisfaction that his heart was beating faster. The satisfaction was short- lived, however, as she noticed her own was doing the same thing.

Since they didn't have a beat they just swayed to imaginary music. Soon, the movement became less and less, and they ended up just standing there holding one another. Brennan felt that contented feeling come back. The same one she'd had when they'd sat close on the couch earlier. 

She had missed that feeling. He was just so warm, and it _was_ cool outside. She heard herself sigh and felt herself lean even closer to him.

Booth broke the mood with a chuckle. "Is our imaginary song over?"

Brennan smiled, glad for the interruption and worried about where things were leading them. "It looks like it is." They pulled apart from each other slowly, each one feeling the breeze, made so much cooler without the body heat of the other.

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After cleaning up the microwave, Sweets washed his sticky hands and then turned his attention to Parker. The kid was a mess, as was the table in front of him, and there was a large spot of melted marshmallow on the floor next to his chair that Daisy was busily trying to lick up.

"No, no, no!" Sweets picked the puppy up and placed her in the living room. She, of course, promptly went back into the kitchen, where Sweets was on hands and knees cleaning the sticky 

spot from the floor. From there, it was the mess on the table, and then, finally, the child's hands and face. His shirt was stained, and there was even chocolate and marshmallow in his hair.

"How did you get it in your hair?"

"My head itched, so I scratched it," Parker replied matter-of-factly as Sweets attempted to clean his hair. The attempt only made it stiff as a board and stick out at weird angles.

"Ok, I think you need a bath."

"No."

"Why no? Your hair's filthy."

"I like it."

Sweets weighed his options. He really didn't need to get drawn into an argument. The last thing he needed was to fail as a babysitter. "How about a compromise?"

"What's that?"

"It's where I meet you in the middle and make you a deal. No bath, but you have to go to bed with no trouble, ok?"

Parker thought for a minute. "Ok, but you have to play hide and seek with me first."

Sweets thought. His compromise hadn't really been up for negotiation. He remembered Booth's sugar warning. It had come a little late, but hide and seek would maybe be a good way to tire the kid out. "It's a deal."

"Pinky swear." Parker held out his pinky finger. Sweets hooked it with his own and the deal was sealed.

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"Ok, where do we go next?" Booth asked, looking over Brennan's shoulder as she looked at the paper. They were now standing under the street light a little ways from the car.

"I'm not sure. The directions look almost like they go out of town." She peered at them by the light cast from above. "They do! They go into Virginia."

"How far into Virginia?"

"Not far. Let's go!" Curious to see where Sweets was taking them, she pulled him to over to the car, letting him open the door for her again without so much as a peep. He got in on the driver's side and they were off.

They did all right with the directions until Sweets led them off the highway, and onto a maze of back roads. "Where the hell are we?" Booth asked.

Brennan read through the directions by the eerie glow of a flashlight. "I think you were supposed to go straight rather than turn back there by that last tree. Turn around." He did so, grumbling about killing Sweets all the way.

"I don't think so Booth. _I _get to kill Dr. Sweets, for recording my entrance in this dress earlier."

"I'm kinda glad he taped it."

"Why?"

"Because Bones, you look great. Just stunning, really, and putting it on tape only makes the image more concrete. I'll never forget it, but having it on the tape will be nice too."

"Oh." She couldn't think of anything else to say. Why couldn't she think of anything else to say? "Thank you." There. Her brain hadn't shut off completely. At least not yet.

**A/N: I'm sorry but I'm gonna stop there. It's just getting a bit long. I'll try and update asap, I promise! Thanks for reading!!**


	7. handcuffs and make out point

**A/N: I know it's been a few days since my last update on this fic, and that might become the norm, since it's back to work with me tomorrow. I'll try and keep the updates timely, but as always, with real life, there are no guarantees. I'm trying to spread the love, so to speak, when it comes to my fic updates. I've got two that are so close to being finished I can almost taste it. It's sad and exciting at the same time. This fic, however, is nowhere near being done. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 7: handcuffs and make out point**

_**Saturday night**_

Before the game of hide and seek, Sweets convinced Parker to take Daisy out with him. They stood outside with her, Sweets holding the leash, and Parker coaxing her to go, telling her how 

he'd give anything to be able to just go outside whenever he needed to. Sweets thought it an interesting statement and tucked it away in the back of his mind.

Daisy had other ideas, and simply sniffed the air. She began to bark at whatever it was she smelled, and Sweets decided to admit defeat, and brought them back inside. From there, he was ordered to go in the corner of the living room and count to one million.

"One million!? No way! They'll be back by the time I'm even finished counting."

Parker thought for a minute. "Count fast. I'm a good hider."

"I'm sure you are, but how about I just count to one hundred?"

This was acceptable to Parker and he nodded. Sweets turned around and began to count, hearing little feet running around all over the place, searching for the perfect hiding spot. He heard several small crashes, and some banging around, wincing each time he heard a noise, and hoping that it whatever had fallen wasn't anything expensive.

When he reached sixty, the footfalls ceased, and Sweets quickly finished his counting. "Sixty-one, seventy-five, ninety-two, one hundred. Ready or not, here I come!" He turned around and noticed firstly that the crashes he'd heard had been framed photos arranged on a table that had been bumped into. He picked them up, glancing at each in turn.

The first was a picture of Parker at what looked to be his birthday party. His face was a mess of frosting, but he looked happy. The second was of Brennan, attempting to look away from the camera, her hand shielding her face. Even so, it was a nice picture. He could see why Booth had framed it. It had caught her off guard, a rare moment.

The third had a crack down the middle, and Sweets placed it in the back. It had been taken in the lab and had all of them in it, even himself. He squinted at it. Not a good likeness of him at all. He then began searching for Parker.

He began in the kitchen, noting that Parker had apparently considered hiding in a cabinet, if the mess of pots and pans on the floor were any indication. He'd been in too big a hurry to put them away. Sweets replaced the pans as best he could, and journeyed through the hallway on to the next room.

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"I can't remember. Were you going to kill Sweets, or was I?" Booth asked after he'd shut the car off.

"I was. Because of him taping me when I came out in this dress."

"Ok, but I get to beat him before you actually kill him."

"Fine by me."

They had finally navigated their way through the back roads of northern Virginia, arriving at their intended destination. It was a spot that looked out over a city, each light below like a pinprick in a dark tapestry. The lights really were beautiful and the surrounding area of trees was 

peaceful to say the least. It was a lovely place and Brennan would have enjoyed it had it not been for the sign.

The sign in question proclaimed the area as 'Look out point'. Or it would have, except someone had crossed out the word 'Look', replacing it with the word 'Make'.

"Do you think he did this on purpose?"

"Whether or not he did will decide whether he dies quick or slow," Brennan replied. "Although it is a very nice spot." She glanced to either side of their car at those parked next to them, the windows fogged on both. "We can just ignore the sign and the other…activity, and simply enjoy the view." She made a point of staring straight ahead at the city lights below and the starry sky above, just so she wasn't looking at him.

He joined her in looking up at the sky. "It's a nice night. A little cool, but still, no clouds, a bright moon, lots of stars. It's perfect."

"Yes, it is nice. It reminds of when I did some field work in Central America. I was in a small village, far away from any major cities. Every night was like this, only not as cool. The weather was quite balmy actually."

"Sounds good."

"It was enjoyable."

The silence prevailed then, but it was a comfortable silence, and neither made any move to break it.

Finally, though, Booth did. "I'm gonna check in on Parker and Sweets."

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Sweets had looked everywhere he could think of for Parker to hide. Every place a little boy could wedge himself. He had come up empty. There was one more room. Booth's bedroom. Sweets stared at the shut door. He had to go in and find the boy. No stopping to observe, although he 

could probably glean a great deal of information about Booth from the bedroom. He shook his head. No, he had a mission. Find Parker.

He opened the door, and stepped inside. He checked under the bed first, ignoring the mess that lay there. No Parker. He got up and looked around. Not a whole lot of options. Then he heard a rustling noise from the closet. Of course.

He flung the closet door open, and heard a yelp of surprise from the boy, followed by a snap, the feel of cold metal around his wrist, and the sound of running down the hallway accompanied by a loud cry of "You'll never catch me!" Sweets looked down at his wrist. A handcuff encircled it. Parker had been digging through the closet and come up with gold. Now, if only he could find the key_, maybe_ Booth wouldn't kill him.

He walked calmly down the hallway, where Parker sat on the couch, bouncing up and down. He saw Sweets and beamed. "I won!"

Hide and seek was a contest? Sweets hadn't been aware of that. He moved towards the little boy, who said, "You can't touch me. I'm safe."

"Since when? We never designated the couch as a safe zone."

"It is. I'm safe. Safe, safe, safe."

"Ok, you win. Now, where are the keys to these cuffs?" Sweets held up his wrist.

Parker shrugged. "I don't know."

"Why did you do that anyway?"

"Cause I didn't want you to catch me."

"Well, I'm going to look for the keys. You are going to go get ready for bed."

"All right." He jumped off the couch and headed to his room to find his pajamas. At least the kid took his pinky swears seriously. He was about to go snoop through Booth's room in the hope of locating the missing keys, but the phone stopped him.

"Hello? Agent Booth…everything's fine. He's getting ready for bed now. I know it's past bedtime, but we lost track of the time…Oh, I picked that spot out intentionally. It's nice at night isn't it? Very peaceful…Agent Booth? Hello?" He replaced the phone, wondering why Booth had hung up. Bad signal maybe. Back to business. He'd check on Parker before looking for that key.

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After hanging up on Sweets, Booth threw the phone into the back. Then he turned around and began digging through the array of items he kept back there.

"You probably shouldn't have thrown your phone," Brennan said, still gazing out at the landscape below as she heard him rummaging around.

"I'm not looking for the phone. I'm looking for…" He turned around triumphantly and held up a blanket. "this."

Without waiting for a reply he got out of the car. Brennan just waited and jumped about a mile when he came around to her side of the car and thumped on the window with the flat of his hand.

"C'mon out Bones!" She did so, and followed him around to the front where he'd spread the blanket out on the ground. He plopped down on it and patted the spot beside him.

She sat, then edged closer to him, seeking out warmth and that wonderful feeling of contentment that was becoming more and more addictive the more she experienced it. Once relaxed, she felt his hand on her chest accompanied by a gentle pressure, easing her down on the blanket until she was flat on her back. He went down beside her and they both stared up at the sky.

"You can see the sky better if you lie down," he said by way of explanation, and she had to agree. "Ever wonder what's out there?"

"I know what's out there Booth. I can give you a rundown if you'd like."

"I mean all that stuff that's beyond our reach. What we aren't capable of seeing."

She looked over at him. "You mean like aliens?"

"No…yes…maybe…I don't know. It was an open ended question."

"I don't think I'll answer that because I don't want to get into an argument right now."

"What makes you so sure we'll argue?"

"Don't we usually?"

He had to give her that one. "Ok, change of topic, since it's getting colder out. Did you have a good time tonight?" He sat up and she followed suit.

"Yes, I did have a nice time. It was a very good date."

He nodded, face deep in thought. "You been out on a lot of good dates?"

"None come to memory." It was true. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a truly good date.

"So do you know what happens at the end of a good date?"

"What?"

"This." And before she knew it, his lips were on hers. Her eyes widened briefly then closed. But it was already over. The warmth of his lips left her as quickly as it had come and left her wanting more. Her eyes opened, and she looked at him, feeling his eyes on her, waiting for her to say something.

"There's one problem with what you just did," she said. His face fell.

"What's that?"

"I said it was a _very_ good date." This time she initiated the kiss, taking it a step further than he had in terms of length and depth. She opened her mouth against his and tentatively licked his 

lips, which then opened for her. She explored his mouth and felt him doing the same with hers until both needed air and their link was broken.

He cleared his throat and looked away from her out toward the horizon. "Maybe we should be getting back. It's late."

"Yes, we should get back." They got off the blanket and took it back inside the car where Booth tossed it unceremoniously in the back.

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Sweets had been unable to find the key. Booth must have had it with him or something. Not good. He looked in on Parker again. The boy had changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth and was now waiting in bed for his story.

"All right, what should we read? There's a book on lizards that looks pretty good."

"I want the one about dinosaurs."

"All right, there's one about all different kinds and one about the T-rex. What'll it be?"

"T-rex!"

Sweets plucked the book off the shelf and sat on the edge of the bed. He read through it, answering the occasional question that Parker threw at him.

"They were pretty mean, huh, Dr. Sweets?"

"Totally. They'd eat just about anything. You definitely didn't want to run into one!"

"Good thing they're all gone."

"Yea, a very good thing. Think about if one were alive in the city."

"I bet he'd step on all the houses and stuff."

"For sure," Sweets replied, imagining the scenario. If a T-rex were alive in the city, it could step on him or eat him and he wouldn't have to face Booth.

After tucking Parker in for the night, he walked down the hallway, stepping in a mess of Daisy's, which, since he'd taken his shoes off earlier, created a mess on the bottom of his sock.

"Thanks Daisy," he told the puppy, who was lounging on the couch, waiting for Booth. Sweets pulled his socks off and found a bag to put them in. He dumped the bag next to his shoes, and sat on the couch with Daisy, reveling in the silence. He then flipped on the nightly news, and watched half heartedly, petting Daisy's back.

They both came to attention as the door opened and Booth and Brennan came through the door. Daisy's tail began wagging and she leaped off the couch and went straight to Booth. He scooped her up and endured the furious face licking before handing him off to Brennan who tolerated several licks before placing the puppy back on the floor.

"How'd it go Sweets?" He took notice of the cuff around Sweets' wrist. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, we played a little hide and seek, and certain things were found and put around my wrist."

"Was that before or after bedtime? And is that chocolate I smell?"

"We might have had a small before bed snack."

"I warned you about the sugar Sweets! Please tell me he's in bed at least." Sweets was lucky he'd had a good evening. He could have been a lot angrier than he was.

"He is. But he most likely isn't asleep yet."

Booth left down the hallway to check on Parker, and Brennan turned to Sweets.

"Where are your socks?"

"They got dirty." He wasn't going to divulge any more information, so she abandoned the subject.

"Did you have a nice time Dr. Brennan?"

"Yes, I did. Thank you for planning all this."

"You're welcome. I wasn't expecting Parker, but we had a pretty good time."

Booth came back then with the key, to Sweets' relief. He released his wrist from the cuff. "Well, Sweets, you gave him sugar, let him wreak havoc, and didn't get him to bed on time, but he likes you. A lot. He wants you to babysit again."

Sweets paled ever so slightly. "I'll have to think about that. He's a handful, but he's a good kid."

"Yea, he is."

"Well, I'm gonna take off. There's a mess in the hallway you should know about. Parker and I tried taking her out, but she didn't do anything."

He headed out the door, wondering if Angela would be able to get any more information out of them regarding their night when she visited.

When he'd gone, Booth locked the door. "I'm turning in. Are you gonna camp out here, or…." He trailed off.

"I think I'll just change and stay on the couch. You and Daisy can snore to your hearts' content." She smiled and headed off to change, pausing to kiss his cheek as she went past him. "Tonight was very nice," she said as she walked down the hall, carefully avoiding the mess.

When she came out again, she found him watching the news in the dark, jacket off and hanging over the back of the couch, tie loosened, and shirt unbuttoned halfway. Daisy was in his lap, her favorite place. His eyes went to hers as she sat next to him, the glow from the TV casting her face in an eerie light.

"Bathroom's yours," she said.

He nodded and stood up, placing Daisy securely under his arm, and went in the kitchen for a paper towel to take care of the mess in the hall. She heard his bedroom door shut and realized that he'd left the TV on and his jacket on the couch. She lay down, shut the TV off, and pulled 

the jacket down over her, following it with the blanket she'd used the previous night. Once comfortable, she closed her eyes and went to sleep, visions of their date dancing before her closed eyelids and the feel of his lips still on her own.

**A/N: Lemme know what you thought! Hopefully, it was all right. Thanks for reading!!**


	8. the breakthrough and the park

**A/N: Yikes! Long time, no update. Please accept my sincerest apologies and take this update as a peace offering. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 8: the breakthrough and the park **

_**Sunday**_

The next morning, Brennan awoke to the smell of coffee. She opened her eyes and sat up, stretching. She could see Booth and Parker in the kitchen, Daisy munching away at her own breakfast.

"Good morning," she said, clearing her throat as her voice came out in a croak. They both looked up at the sound of her voice, Parker at the table, and Booth at the counter, making waffles.

"Can I stop whispering now?" Parker whispered.

"Yea, you don't have to whisper anymore."

"Good," he said loudly, and then, to Brennan, "Hi, Dr. Bones!"

Brennan smiled in reply and got off the couch, taking a seat across from Parker. She nodded her thanks as Booth placed a cup of coffee in front of her and a plate of waffles.

Parker took a drink of orange juice and looked at Brennan. "Are you going to the park with us Dr. Bones?"

Brennan chewed up a bite of waffle and took a sip of coffee. "Yes, I am." She glanced over at Booth, who had also sat down with coffee and waffles. She didn't feel any awkwardness between them after last night like she had expected. In fact, nothing in his behavior indicated that last night had even happened.

She shrugged it off as unimportant for the time being, and ate her breakfast.

After finishing, she headed to the bathroom to shower, noting that both father and son were already dressed for the day and had damp hair. She grabbed some clothes and closed the door, turning around and nearly tripping over Daisy, who had followed her into the bathroom.

"Watch where you're going Daisy. We could've been hurt," she cautioned the puppy, feeling foolish as she talked. Daisy's ears pricked up as though her words had gotten through. She snuffled her way to the corner next to the sink, and lay down in a puppy shaped ball, occasionally looking up and sniffing to make sure Brennan was still in the room.

When she came out of the shower, Daisy was curled up on her clothes, sound asleep. Brennan bit her lip, and gently removed the sleeping puppy. She ran her hands over her clothes to make sure they were still dry, then put them on.

When she came in the living room, Daisy on her heels, Booth looked up from the couch where he was sitting with Parker while the boy looked through a book.

"Hey girls."

"I'm not a girl Booth."

He sighed, then amended, "Hey girl and woman."

She sat next to them and Daisy jumped up on the couch, settling in Booth's lap.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked.

"Yea, you get Daisy ready; I just gotta grab something." He went into the kitchen and came back with a picnic basket. "Ok, let's get outta here."

Brennan clipped on Daisy's leash and grabbed the camera. Parker put his book away, and then the four of them headed out. It was a nice day, and Brennan was glad that the weather was cooperating. When they were close to the park she took a moment to consider how they must look to passersby; her with the puppy, Booth with the picnic basket in one hand and the little boy's hand in the other. They looked like a family.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but was spared any further thinking as they arrived at the park and Parker broke loose from Booth's grip and ran toward the playground.

He let him go, keeping an eye on him as he crashed on the nearby bench. Brennan joined him with Daisy, recording her as she ventured out as far as her leash would allow, sniffing all the new smells that the park had to offer.

"Not bad out today, huh?" His question cut into her inner musings.

"It's beautiful out. It's the perfect day to go to the park."

He nodded, his mind clearly not on the weather.

"Look Bones, about last night…"

"What about it?" She had been expecting this conversation since she'd woken up that morning.

She shut the camera off. Sweets didn't need to hear any of this.

"I hope it didn't go too far or anything like that. I know how you feel with regards to our relationship."

She sucked her lips into her mouth, wetting them and recalling the feel of his kiss.

"No, it didn't go too far at all. If this is the direction we're heading, then I believe it's going at a decent pace."

"Is this the direction you want us heading?"

"Do you want it?"

"Don't answer my question with a question Bones."

Brennan took a deep breath, concentrating on Parker going down the slide so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"I think that if either one of us didn't want things to go forward, we never would have kissed last night. Although a momentary lapse in judgment could also be to blame."

"Is that what it was Bones? A momentary lapse in judgment?"

"I don't think so. I was fully aware of my actions and I believe you were too, right?"

He nodded his head in response.

"Ok then." She said nothing more, still focusing on Parker. She felt his hand come over hers and she savored that content feeling that even the slightest bit of contact created. Then she glanced down at Daisy.

"Booth. Look. She's going." She said it quietly, as though saying it in a normal tone of voice would cause Daisy to suddenly stop.

He leaned around her to look at the puppy. "Good, now if only she can keep it up."

They ate the picnic lunch Booth had packed, consisting of sandwiches, potato chips, and thermoses of lemonade. After eating, Parker immediately raced back to the playground, calling at Booth to come over and push him on the swings.

Once alone with Daisy, Brennan spoke. "What do you think Daisy? Am I crazy? I must be. I'm attempting to pursue a romantic relationship with Booth and I'm talking to a dog." Daisy stood on her hind legs, putting a front paw on Brennan's leg in a silent plea to be picked up. Brennan complied and the puppy settled next to her, resting both front paws on her thigh.

She observed the two at the swings for a moment, then continued talking to Daisy.

"Maybe it won't be so bad. I mean, we're already close, so this is the next logical step right?" Daisy just looked at her. "Oh, but there's the line. Didn't we already cross that though last night? The line wasn't just about sex and a romantic relationship; it was about kisses too; anything unprofessional." She traced the toe of her shoe across an imaginary line in front of the bench.

"I guess we'll see how it goes. And who knows; perhaps at the end of our week with you, everything will just slip back to normal." Daisy cocked her head to the side, her ears up as if to say '_no way_'.

Brennan scratched the puppy's ears. "We'll see." She turned the camera back on and recorded Booth and Parker. They were sweet together, really. She wondered briefly if she'd ever be able to fit in with them, be that carefree.

She caught Booth's eye then and he motioned her over. She got up, placing Daisy on the ground and the two of them walked over to the swings.

"Sit down Bones."

"What?"

"Give Daisy's leash to Parker, put the camera down and sit."

She frowned slightly at being ordered around but gave the leash to the boy, put the camera on the ground next to them, and sat down on the swing. Before she knew what was happening, he was behind her and she felt herself get pulled back and let go and she was swinging through the air. As she swung back she felt a push on her back and she went up again. A smile crept on her face. She hadn't done this since she was a child. It was exhilarating.

She looked back briefly behind her shoulder as she swung back. "I can swing myself you know."

"I know. It's more fun this way," came his reply and she had to agree.

When he finally allowed her to come to a stop, she took several breaths and smoothed down her hair. She turned her head around, and he was right behind her, a hand on either side of the swing's chain.

"Thank you. That was fun."

"You're welcome." There was a pause and he leaned down, cupped the side of her face and gave her a slow gentle kiss that had her stretching up toward him to deepen it.

"Gross." Parker's voice off to the side of them caused them to break apart, Booth chuckling at his son's statement.

"Gross?" he asked his son.

The boy's head nodded vehemently.

He took the leash from Parker and handed if off to Brennan before picking up the little boy and giving him a big hug and kiss. Parker made a face, but began giggling, the face melting into a big smile.

"Was that gross too?"

He put Parker down and they went back home, Daisy improving the day by going outside again.

Rebecca arrived about an hour later to pick up Parker.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Yep. We went to the park. We had a picnic and I went down the slide and went on the swings and climbed on the jungle gym and Dad kissed Dr. Bones."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at Brennan who was on the couch. Booth had gone to get Parker's bag from his bedroom.

"Really?" She shot Brennan a small grin.

"Yea, it was gross."

Booth returned with the bag, and passed it to Rebecca. He gave his son a hug and a kiss good-bye and gave a nod to Rebecca, who gave him a knowing smile before ushering her son out the door.

After closing it behind him, Booth wondered what the story was behind that smile she'd given him. He shrugged it off, and turned to Brennan.

"What do you wanna do now?"

"I was thinking along the lines of dinner and maybe a movie."

"Sounds good. I'll cook and feed Daisy. You pick a movie."

She perused his DVD collection, finally deciding on 'Rear Window'.

When dinner was finished, they sat on the couch to eat and Booth started the movie.

"Hitchcock. Good choice."

"Thank you. I felt like something suspenseful."

Once the movie was finished, Brennan found herself comfortably snuggled up next to him, his arm around her. Daisy was in his lap, as usual, curled up in a furry little ball. Brennan sighed softly, realizing that she didn't want to get up. He wasn't making any move to get up, so, in the end, neither did she. They stared at the blank screen for what felt like an eternity, and finally, Booth removed his arm from her shoulders, picked up Daisy, and got up. He placed the sleepy puppy on the floor, put their plates and glasses in the sink and put the movie away.

"I suppose we should try taking her out one last time." He clipped on her leash, and headed for the door, Brennan following with the camera.

When they came back in, Brennan was convinced in the existence of small miracles.

"She's learning fast. I can't believe she went!"

Booth had picked her up and was speaking to her with his patented baby talk voice.

"Who's a good girl? Who's a good girl? You're such a good girl, yes you are! Yes, you are. Such a big girl!"

"I think she gets it Booth," Brennan held the camera up to focus on Booth's baby talk and Daisy's frantic licking of his face.

"This is a big deal Bones! Praise her." He held the puppy out to Brennan who traded him, the puppy for the camera.

She held Daisy and with another sigh, and spoke to her. "Good girl Daisy. We're both very proud of you. I think your daddy's gonna have a heart attack though, he's so excited. Let's try and make this a regular thing, ok?" Looking the puppy in the eye, she set her back down.

"I'm going to bed," she informed Booth, going down the hall to change in the bathroom and brush her teeth. He waited for her to come back out, and when she didn't, he picked Daisy up and crept down the hall, knocking on his bedroom door.

"Bones, you ok in there?"

"Yes, I'm done."

He opened the door to find her curled up on one side of the bed. He just looked at her.

"You're not…I mean, aren't you going to…?"

"What?"

"Sleep on the couch?"

"No, it's a bit uncomfortable. And I figure I can put up with the noise in exchange for warmth and comfort."

He didn't reply, just set Daisy on the bed, grabbed some sweatpants and a t-shirt from a drawer and went into the bathroom to change. After coming out, he shut the light off and crawled in on the other side of the bed, gently moving Daisy away from the center of his pillow. It had been a good day.

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the delay!! I've been having writer's block with all my fics, and I'm trying to ease out of it gradually. Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	9. progress and bathtime

**A/N: A huge thank you to everyone reading and reviewing! I don't know what's up with my muse lately. Inspiration seems to come in spurts. Anyway, here's your update! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 9: progress and bathtime**

_**Monday**_

The next morning Booth woke up, alone in the bed. A glance at the clock on the nightstand told him he'd slept in. He rubbed the fatigue from his eyes, and got up. Daisy was gone as well as Brennan. She must have taken her outside and fed her. He moved into the bathroom to shower, and upon coming out, headed into the kitchen.

Brennan was seated at the table with a mug of coffee and the morning paper, diligently doing the crossword. He peered over her shoulder, noting with a tinge of envy that more than half of the blocks were filled in. He could never get that far, and, in fact, had stopped trying months ago.

"Morning Bones," he said, adding an element of cheerfulness to his voice.

"Mmm," she mumbled, still deep in concentration over a clue, her teeth unconsciously clamping down on the pen cap as she thought.

He poured himself a mug of coffee, sat across from her, and shuffled through the paper until he found the sports and comics sections. She took a moment to eye his selections with disapproval.

"You know, you should really be reading about global events, things that may impact your own life."

"Game scores do impact my life," he retorted, scanning the sports pages.

"Only if you bet money on the outcome, which you shouldn't be doing."

"I'm not," he defended himself. "It's just important to know how these games turn out."

She shrugged her indifference and turned back to her puzzle. She couldn't understand the appeal of sports.

He looked at her over the page. "Did you take Daisy out?"

"Yes, and yes, she did go. It's amazing. We haven't even engaged in any proper house training."

"She's just smart. Takes after her mommy."

He got the reaction he'd hoped for when a smile appeared, beginning at the corners of her mouth and spreading, becoming infectious as he felt himself smile back at her. Their eyes made contact for a moment, and each struggled to make use of the time and read the other, but contact was broken before full understanding was achieved.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Booth asked.

"Well, I thought we could give Daisy a bath, since Dr. Sweets sent over that shampoo, and beyond that, it's up to you."

Booth thought. He wasn't sure what else they could do, particularly with Daisy. Most places weren't exactly dog friendly, and he was pretty sure that since Sweets had come over to dog sit before, he didn't want them leaving Daisy alone for a long amount of time.

"I'll have to do some more thinking. Whose day is it to work tomorrow? Yours or mine?"

"It's yours. I work Wednesday. Then the vet appointment is on Thursday, and Friday we meet with Dr. Sweets again and take Daisy back."

Silence fell as both thought about bringing Daisy back. It didn't seem as appealing as it had on their first day with her. Brennan was the first to snap out of it. She finished up her crossword, and stood, taking her mug to the sink. Booth leaned forward and looked at the newspaper page. Every box was filled in. He grumbled, but was bolstered as he also noticed a couple of cross-outs and rewrites. She wasn't the crossword queen after all.

She noticed him looking at the marks. "I had some issues with the clues referring to modern slang words," she explained.

"Oh." That took some of the wind out of his sails.

She took the bottle of puppy shampoo from the counter and perused the instructions. "Should we do it in the sink or in the tub?"

"_Do it?_" he thought. "Huh?" Caught off guard by her choice of phrasing, he voiced the question while at the same time knowing full well what she meant.

"Daisy's bath. Tub or sink?"

"The sink I think." He grinned at his little rhyme, and picked up the puppy from where she was sitting on the floor next to the table. "You ready for a bath Daisy Jo?" he asked her, taking off her collar and dress and setting both on the counter

She cocked her head at him, as if not understanding the question, but didn't get a repeat. He carried her over to the sink and placed her in it, and she immediately tried to get out, claws scrabbling on the surface.

Brennan, meanwhile, had fetched a towel and was focused on getting the right temperature for the water. "What do you think?" She pushed the faucet in his direction. He stuck his wrist under the water.

"A little warmer."

She complied with the suggestion, then turned the faucet so it was in the sink Daisy occupied. She picked up the sprayer and wet the puppy while Booth kept her in the sink with the gentle pressure of his hand on her back. She immediately began shivering, and doubled her efforts to climb out of the sink.

Once she was wet, Booth held out his other hand for the shampoo. "Give me some shampoo Bones."

She did so, and he worked it into a lather, soaping up Daisy while she pleaded at him with her big brown eyes. "I know Daisy. Just a little longer. Hang in there," he told her sympathetically. He rinsed her off while Brennan stood by with the towel.

When he was finished, he turned to her. "Bones, hold her and give me the towel." She handed it off to him, one hand keeping the puppy in the sink as she struggled to jump out onto the counter. 

He took the towel and spread it out across him, then took Daisy and settled the squirming wet puppy against his chest, wrapping the towel around her.

"There, see, that wasn't so bad," he soothed her. "I need another towel. This one's soaked." Brennan went into the bathroom and grabbed another towel and they traded off, Brennan wrapping Daisy up this time and running the towel up and down her little body to dry her off.

She stole a glance at Booth who was holding the sopping towel in one hand. There was a huge water stain on his shirt from where the towel had soaked through, and Brennan was certain she'd have a matching one once she removed Daisy and the towel.

"I never thought such a small puppy could hold that much water," Booth commented, hanging the towel across the back of a chair. Brennan finished rubbing down Daisy and placed the puppy on the floor where she immediately took off in the direction of the bedroom, going through the open door and hiding under the bed.

"Poor girl," he said, following Daisy's path to the bedroom as Brennan hung up her towel on another chair. She grabbed the camera, turned it on, and went to the bedroom.

Once inside, she saw her partner on his stomach, peering underneath the bed.

"Come on Daisy. It's ok now. The bath's all over. Come on out. Daddy's here."

She ignored his coaxing and remained hidden. He didn't even look over at her as she stood in the doorway recording.

"You're recording me aren't you?"

"Of course."

He nodded his head, which was halfway under the bed, resulting in a _thunk_ as his skull collided with the bed frame. Rubbing his head, he sat up and leaned against the bed.

"She's not coming out."

"Here, as long as you're down there, why don't you record her?" She handed the camera down to him and he got in his previous position and recorded the puppy under the bed.

"She's scared, like she thinks we'll give her another bath if she comes out."

An idea clicked in Brennan's head. "I bet I can make her come out." She disappeared and came back with the bag of treats. She gave it two shakes and a puppy shaped blur came rushing out. Satisfied with her victory, Brennan opened the bag and gave Daisy a treat.

"Nice work Bones." He had gone back to sitting up against the bed, the camera pointed at Daisy inhaling her treat.

"Thank you."

"I have an idea of what we can do next."

"Which is?" she asked curiously.

"I thought maybe we could take Daisy shopping. You know, to that pet store."

"Oh, that one that allows dogs?"

"That's the one. Maybe we could get her a new dress or something." He sounded hopeful.

"Perhaps. Although you know my opinion on dogs and clothing."

"I know, but she looks so cute in that dress. Maybe something purple?"

She raised an eyebrow at the suggestion, but couldn't comment further as her cell phone chirped from its place in her pants pocket. She pulled it out and checked the ID. Angela. She left the bedroom and went into the living room, sitting on the couch, and flipping the phone open.

"Hey Ange. What's up?"

"I just wanted to have a friendly chat with my best friend is all." A silence followed. Brennan heard a small huff on the other end. It was the noise Angela made when she wasn't readily volunteering information. "What's it like living with Booth?"

The question confused Brennan for a moment. How did Angela even know about the arrangement? _Dr. Sweets_. Then she answered, "It's like living alone, except I'm not alone."

This apparently wasn't what Angela wanted to hear. "Ok, another question. How was Saturday night?"

Brennan played dumb. "Saturday night?"

"Yea, you know, your big date?" She smiled with glee as she observed that Brennan didn't deny that it had been a date before answering.

"It was enjoyable. We went to dinner and went out of town and looked at the stars. It was very relaxing."

"And?"

"And what? That's all we did."

She could almost feel Angela's disappointment radiating through the phone. "Oh. So, no sex then?"

"Ange! No!"

"Not even a kiss?" Angela couldn't believe nothing had happened and Brennan wasn't about to lie to her.

"We kissed." No harm in divulging that.

"Finally! I mean, it's been, what, three years? It's about time! Have you since then?"

"What, kissed?"

"Uh huh."

Brennan thought back to yesterday in the park. "Yes."

"Good, keep that up, and you'll be in bed together before you know it."

Brennan kept her mouth shut about them sleeping in the same bed. Angela would blow it out of proportion, and she didn't want to deal with a crazed friend at the moment. She was borderline as it was.

"Look, I'll let you go. Call me if something happens." She said good-bye and hung up before Brennan could reply. She flipped her phone closed and wandered back to the bedroom, where Booth stood holding Daisy.

"Are we still going to the store?" she asked.

"Yep, we're ready to go when you are. Just gotta get her collar and dress back on. She's mostly dry already."

She surprised him by stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his neck, careful not to crush the puppy between them. She leaned in and kissed him softly, ignoring the tug within her that told her to deepen it. She withdrew slowly, watching his eyes.

"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

She tilted her head to the side. "I just felt like it. Plus, we hadn't kissed since yesterday, and I thought it was time." She didn't mention the ache inside her that had steadily been growing in intensity ever since his lips left hers after their kiss in the park; communicating to her brain that she needed to kiss him again.

"You felt like it?" There was a slight glint of devilishness in his eyes.

"Yes."

"I get that. _And_ I feel like doing this." Without another word, he placed Daisy gently on the ground, and in the next second she found herself pressed between his body and the wall, his mouth crushed against hers and his hands on either side of her head.

After a moment of initial shock at the quickness of it all, coupled with his boldness, which, she had to admit, was a turn on, she melted into the kiss, opening her mouth eagerly when she felt his tongue pressing her lips apart. Her hands roamed through his hair and down to his shoulders, and she used her tongue to begin a thorough exploration of his mouth, probing further than she had during their date on Saturday.

She felt his hands on her shoulders as they left the wall, slowly sliding down her sides where they rested at her waist. He withdrew his mouth from hers for a brief moment to see if there was a reaction to the placement of his hands. Hearing nothing from her about their location, he brought his mouth to hers once more and his hands continued their downward descent, coming to rest again, this time at her hips. It felt wonderful, feeling his hands on her, and she waited in fevered anticipation of his next move, the heat lingering on her skin wherever his hands had been, felt through the material of her clothing.

Instead, he broke away from her as Daisy's high pitched yip reached his ears, eliciting a quiet moan from Brennan at the loss. "What's the matter little girl?" he asked, sitting next to her on the bed and taking her up in his arms again. She gave his face a lick. "Do you need to go outside again?" He looked over at Brennan, still pressed against the wall. "Maybe we should go."

She swallowed, savoring the taste of him in her mouth and shook her head to clear it. "I agree; it's afternoon already."

They hit the road, and after arriving at the pet store, led Daisy in on her leash. She pulled at it, wanting to go in all directions at once, but they managed to lead her to the racks of clothing.

"There's an awful lot here," Brennan commented, wondering how many crazy people were out there who, like Booth, put clothes on their pets.

"We gotta find something pretty. And it has to be purple. I think she'll look pretty in purple."

Brennan sighed, and pulled out the first piece of clothing she could lay her hands on. It was a hooded sweatshirt, red in color. "How about this?"

Booth looked at her like she was from another planet. "That's for a boy. And it's red."

"Fine." She replaced the shirt and let him to do the picking.

In the end, he picked out a purple checked dress for Daisy after browsing through the different clothing options. Brennan nodded when he held it up in front of Daisy, a sign of her approval. It was all she could do to remove her gaze from his mouth to even look at the dress.

At the checkout, he purchased a coin for the tag machine, and they went over to it. He popped the token in and selected a heart shaped tag, having her name engraved on it, along with his address in case she got lost. After the tag was deposited at the bottom of the machine, he attached it to her collar, and picked her up, holding her at arm's length as Brennan grasped the leash.

"What do you think Bones?"

"She looks nice. Let's put the new dress on her as well." She removed it from the sack in her hand, and Booth got her into it, handing her the pink one which she put in the plastic bag. As they left, she snagged his hand, and held onto it all the way to the car, not really caring who saw or what they might think.

Once back at the apartment, they ate a late lunch/early dinner and sat in front of the TV, watching the news and stealing little kisses every now and then. Brennan was slightly disappointed that none of them reached the fever pitch that the one from earlier had. She wondered if it had been a fluke. She hoped not. That thought led her to wonder also if things would have escalated if not for the interruption from Daisy.

Evening gave way to night, and Booth was channel surfing while Brennan relaxed against him, her head on his shoulder. When he stopped on ESPN, she drew the line, and grabbed the remote from him, turned the TV off, and tossed the remote behind the couch where it clattered on the floor. Daisy's ears pricked up at the sound and she jumped off Booth's lap to go investigate.

"Bones! What did you do that for?"

"I dislike sports," she explained evenly, and quelled any further protest by covering his mouth with hers. She opened her mouth, and when he didn't do the same, she nipped at his lower lip. When they parted in surprise she took the opportunity and continued the exploration of his mouth she had begun earlier.

She felt him start to pull away. _Oh, no, you don't_. She responded by moving forward, until he was backed into the corner of the couch and she was leaning over him, nearly stretched out on top of him. Finally, she succumbed to her own need for more air other than the fleeting breaths they'd allowed themselves between kisses, and withdrew her mouth from his.

"Wow, Bones," was all he could bring himself to say.

"I apologize. That might have gotten a bit out of hand."

"Don't apologize. I liked it." He put his hands on her shoulders and gently drew her back from him so he could get up. Once he did, he went into the kitchen to feed Daisy. As soon as she suspected what he was up to, Daisy raced after him, her claws clicking on the kitchen tile.

"When was the last time she went out?" he called from the kitchen.

"What?" Brennan asked quietly, still feeling a little dazed. "Oh, when we returned from the store."

"It's getting late. She should probably go out again, don't you think?"

"Yes, she should. Can you take her on your own?"

"Sure." He waited until Daisy had finished eaten, then he clipped her leash on and the two of them disappeared through the door.

Brennan leaned into the back of the couch, finding some solace in the moment alone and taking the time to get her body to calm down from their kiss. Whenever they kissed, she couldn't stop her body's natural response to him. It wasn't that the reaction was unwanted; not at all, it was just that she didn't like the idea of relinquishing control. At least she had the knowledge that his body reacted to her as well; that it wasn't just her. She'd felt as much when she'd practically been sprawled out over him. She blew out a breath of air. How was she going to share a bed with him tonight?

She'd just have to keep to her own side, as she had the previous night, and hope for the best. A respectable distance would have to be maintained tonight, or things would really spiral out of control.

He arrived back with Daisy then, grinning from ear to ear. "I think it's official. She's house trained! We did it!"

"We didn't actually do anything," she pointed out.

He ignored her comment, and let out a yawn. "I call the bathroom first." And he headed down the hallway at a brisk pace, as though she'd suddenly bolt off the couch and race him there. A smirk appeared on her face. Not a bad idea.

After beating him to the bathroom, Brennan brushed her teeth and ducked back out to retrieve some nightclothes. After changing, she crashed on her side of the bed, turned on the lamp sitting on the nightstand, and began reading a book, stroking the puppy next to her with one hand between page turns.

When Booth came out of the bathroom, he took in the sight of the two of them before shutting the light off, climbing in bed on his own side, and turning his head to face her, his hand stretching out to remove the book from her grasp.

"Hey!" she protested. She hadn't marked her place.

"Is this ok Bones?"

"Is what ok?"

"I mean, after today…"

"We agreed that we were going to take the next step, and we just grew today. It's perfectly acceptable, as are the sleeping arrangements. I have no problem with any of it."

She noticed that he'd been considerate enough to keep a finger in the book at the page she'd been reading, and he opened it back up and placed it back in her hand.

He scratched Daisy behind the ears, then leaned over Daisy to kiss her softly and quickly.

"Good night Bones."

"Good night."

He rolled over away from her and went to sleep. Brennan read a few more pages before shutting the lamp off and going to sleep herself, her dreams filled with the events of that day, what might have been, and also what was hopefully yet to come.

**A/N: Ok, that got a bit long, but I couldn't find a good stopping point, and I kind of like the one chap, one day format. I hope you liked it, and thanks for reading!**


	10. Mommy and me

**A/N: So, it's been forever, and I apologize. Real life has kept me busy but I'm hoping I can complete this one before I start grad school. At the rate I'm updating, I don't know. I'll be quiet now and let you read! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 10: Mommy and me**

_**Tuesday**_

At 10 am, Brennan felt a head nuzzling under her arm. She rolled over to get away from the unwanted movement. After a minute or so of uninterrupted sleep, it happened again, a cold nose leaving a wet spot on her arm. She rolled again, this time running out of bed and thumping on the floor, tangled up in the sheets.

"Daisy!" she said, irritated at the puppy. The dachshund in question appeared in front of her, oblivious to her tone and wagging her tail. She crawled up Brennan's leg and stretched, giving her a lick good morning.

Brennan untangled herself and craned her neck from her position on the floor to see the clock on the nightstand. Seeing the time, she concluded that Booth had long since left for his day of work, not bothering to wake her up. She was a little disappointed since not being awoken had resulted in the lack of a good bye kiss. On top of that, she was curious to know if they'd both kept to their respective sides of the bed the previous night.

She stretched, still on the floor, and pulled herself upright, grabbing clothes and disappearing into the bathroom, Daisy following. Since she wasn't whining or racing around, it could be safely assumed that she'd already been taken out and fed.

When she emerged with the puppy, she carefully made the bed, and padded into the kitchen to make coffee and grab some breakfast. She removed a bowl from the cabinet and eyed the choices of cereal. She looked down at Daisy with a quirked eyebrow.

"Does he have anything without marshmallows and an insane amount of sugar?" she asked the puppy. Daisy naturally didn't reply, and Brennan dug through the cupboard, finally coming up triumphant with a small sample box of wheat cereal that had been shoved in the back.

She sat at the table with the bowl of cereal and a mug of coffee and perused the paper, sitting on the table, waiting for her. She bit back a chuckle as she noticed he'd already attempted to tackle the crossword.

It was a mess, with only a few boxes devoid of cross outs. He'd apparently reached his boiling point at some moment in time because the entire page was filled with wrinkles, indicating it had been crumpled up. The top was marked with a large wet spot and Brennan guessed that he'd thrown it and it had landed in Daisy's water bowl.

She finished her breakfast, and went out into the living room, sitting on the couch and looking over at the puppy who had hopped up next to her, resting two small front paws on her thigh.

"So what should we do with the rest of our day Daisy?"

Yes, she was talking to a dog, but, she reasoned, it was a step above talking to herself. "We could clean up around here a bit," she suggested, nodding her head at the thought. It would certainly suck up some time. She went to the hallway closet and located the vacuum cleaner. The second she turned it on, Daisy ran into the kitchen, diving into her pet bed, and staring at the vacuum with wide eyes. Brennan turned it off and plucked the frightened puppy from the bed.

"Come on, I'll put you in the bedroom until I have to vacuum in there." Once Daisy was safe and sound on Booth's pillow, the vacuuming commenced. She moved Daisy back into the living room before vacuuming the bedroom, and once that task was finished, Brennan found some cleaner and a rag and began dusting. It was too quiet though. She set her cleaning implements down, and wandered over to the stereo, eyes browsing over his CD collection.

Most of the bands she'd never heard of, and wasn't sure she'd like. She finally narrowed it down to Elvis or The Beatles. She held both CDs out to Daisy. "What do you think?" Daisy sniffed both and went back to her spot on the couch. In the end, she chose Elvis, and spent the remainder of the morning dusting to 'Hound Dog', 'Heartbreak Hotel', and 'Jailhouse Rock'.

As she was preparing to dust a table, she removed the framed photos resting on top, frowning as she noticed the one in the back with all of them in it had a crack through the glass. Maybe she'd get him a new frame for it. It was a nice picture, except the camera hadn't really captured Dr. Sweets' good side.

She looked at the one of herself. Speaking of not capturing one's good side; this definitely was not hers. She recalled the moment it had been taken. He'd taken her by surprise and had promised her that he wouldn't get it developed. She snorted. Not only was it developed, but it was framed and sat on a table in full view. She was surprised he hadn't had it blown up and hung above his couch.

When she was finished with the dusting, she looked around the room, satisfied with the job she'd done. She checked the time. It was a bit after noon. She was hit with another idea, and moved to the coffee table for Daisy's leash. After divesting her of the dress and clipping on the leash, she led Daisy to the door. "Let's go see Daddy."

On the way to the FBI building she stopped to pick up some lunch, holding Daisy securely under her arm, and promising the guy behind the counter that she wasn't sticking around. Once arriving at their destination, she looked down at Daisy. "Now, how am I going to get you in there? You certainly won't pass for a service dog." She thought, then turned and dug around in the back of her car, finding the large reusable shopping bag she took with her when going to the supermarket. She gently placed Daisy inside.

"Stay quiet ok Daisy? It's just so we don't get caught." With those words, she got out of the car, and walked briskly to the entrance, throwing open the doors with purpose and making a beeline for Booth's office.

The only moment she thought they might get caught was when a brown head and floppy ears peeked up over the edge of the bag, taking in the scenery. Brennan shifted the bag around so she could better hide the head of the curious puppy.

Upon reaching his office, she swung the door open without knocking, and sat down across from him. He was facing the wall and deeply involved in a phone conversation, apparently not hearing the door. The call ended and he turned around in his chair to replace the phone, nearly jumping out of his seat as he realized he wasn't alone in the office.

"Bones! What are you doing here? You left Daisy?"

"Nice to see you too," she said dryly, then held the sack from the deli out to him. "One question at a time. I brought you lunch."

"That's very…domestic of you Bones. Thank you." He took the sack from her hand.

She was about to say something about his use of the word 'domestic' to describe her action, when a black nose appeared at the top of the bag, followed by a head, front legs, body, back legs, and tail. Daisy dug her way out of the sack and hurtled herself across Booth's desk into his surprised arms.

"You snuck her in here?!" he asked incredulously.

"Yes. I couldn't very well leave her alone. And, there are no dogs allowed in here, so I had no choice but to sneak her in."

"You came all the way over here just to bring me a sandwich? Not that I don't appreciate it, but you didn't have to."

"I know. But, I…_we_ wanted to see you. You forgot something this morning."

"Oh?" He ran down a mental checklist, not coming up with anything he'd forgotten.

"Yes. This." She leaned across the desk and kissed him briefly, all too aware of the other people on the other side of the door. She didn't mind, but knew he'd take all kinds of teasing from his co-workers.

"Oh. Right, yea, I did forget that." He licked his lips, then reached into the bag for his sandwich, while Daisy made herself comfortable in his lap. He was about to rip off a piece of bread to give her, when Brennan caught on to the movement.

"Don't you dare Booth."

"It's just a little bit Bones."

"Doesn't matter. She'll expect it all the time if you do it even once."

There was a knock on the door, and Booth's eyes went wide and he pushed Daisy into Brennan's arms. She glared at him and Booth pointed wildly at the shopping bag. Daisy was placed inside just before the door opened and a portly man entered, dropping off some paperwork for Booth.

"Thanks Sean. How did you know I needed more paperwork?"

The man smiled, causing his twinkling eyes to crinkle at the corners. "It's a gift. You're the first stop on my journey to bring down the spirits of everyone on this floor. Here's hoping they'll all 

be as gracious as you." He turned his attention to Brennan and her wriggling, snuffling shopping bag.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm Sean Dalton." He held out his hand, which Brennan shook.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Oh, you're _that _Dr. Brennan. Nice to meet you. I'm a big fan of your books, by the way."

"Thank you."

Booth noticed Daisy's impatience to get out of the bag. "Thanks for stopping by Sean. Catch ya later!" He shot him a smile and a small wave, and the man took that as his cue to leave and continued on his rounds.

Booth sighed and leaned back in his chair. A little too far back. He nearly fell backward, and made an ungraceful but successful attempt to right himself. He caught her grin at the near-fall and returned it. "I gotta get back to work." He gestured to the pile that Sean had placed in front of him.

"We should get going anyway," Brennan replied. Sean's appearance had been a close call. Daisy didn't like staying the bag, and eventually was going to get caught by someone. They both leaned toward one another, meeting halfway in a kiss that ended all too soon. "I'll see you when you get home." She let Daisy say good bye, and then headed out the door, leaving Booth leaning back again in his chair, happy about the fact that she'd referred to his place as 'home'.

Letting Daisy out of the bag once they'd reached the car, Brennan slid into the driver's seat, picking up Daisy and setting her in the passenger seat. The puppy stood on her hind legs and peeked out the window, watching the people and cars moving around outside. Brennan pulled out into the street, and rolled down the window a bit so Daisy could sniff the smells of the outside. She should have brought the camera with her, recorded Daisy at the window before they'd started driving.

Back at the apartment, she let herself in with the key Booth had given her that first day and went into the kitchen to give Daisy some fresh water and a treat. After doing that, she stood in the middle of the living room, and thought about what to do next. It was strange. She wasn't used to having a lot of free time, and when she did, she worked on her latest book or read. She didn't 

feel like reading the book she'd brought along with her, and she didn't have her laptop with her. She looked around the room, her eyes settling on the TV.

With a resigned sigh, she plopped on the couch, joined by Daisy in the next instant, and fingered the remote control. Hopefully he had The Discovery Channel or National Geographic. He did, but Brennan never made it that far, having stopped at SpongeBob Squarepants. She stared at the screen, mentally noting the glaring inaccuracies of the program. A squirrel living under the sea in a waterproof dome? Hardly even a possibility. And the sponge looked nothing like an actual sponge, looking more like the brightly colored ones you could buy two for one downtown.

Yet, she couldn't look away or change the channel. There was some sort of marathon airing and the hours slipped by. Brennan was in the middle of an episode wherein the sponge and a pink starfish were selling chocolate bars, when Booth opened the door, and let out a laugh at seeing her curled up on the couch watching cartoons. Daisy heard him, and made a flying leap off the couch, racing over to him as though he'd been gone for weeks.

He picked her up and carried her over to the couch, enduring the bath Daisy was giving his face. "Hey, SpongeBob!" He sat down by her, and she instantly folded herself up next to him before glancing up at him.

"You've seen this before?"

"Yea, sure, Parker watches it sometimes."

"It's highly unrealistic."

"It's a _cartoon_ Bones." He gave her a peck on the forehead, then on the cheek, before moving to her lips for a longer more intense kiss.

She pulled her lips from his long enough to reply, "Even so, a little more effort could be made to educate on the realities of undersea life."

He just shook his head at her, and returned his attention to the screen. She put her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly when his arm went around her. After the episode had ended, he ran his fingers through her hair absent mindedly, switching off the television as another program began. "I'm not sure I want you watching Fairly Oddparents."

She glanced at the blank screen. "Huh?"

"It's another cartoon. You want some dinner?"

"Are you offering to cook?"

"I am."

"Then, yes, please." She watched him move into the kitchen, Daisy not following him for once, deciding instead to curl up next to Brennan. The puppy gave a yawn, and proceeded to fall asleep while Brennan stroked her back.

"Did you clean today?" he asked, turning his head to her from his position at the stove.

"I did. How did you know?"

"It smells like lemons in this place. Thank you."

Brennan shrugged. "Not a big deal. I was bored this morning, and the entire living room was coated in dust."

"No it wasn't! It hasn't been that long since I dusted." His eyes shot up to the ceiling as he thought. "Well, on second thought, maybe it has been awhile." He turned back to his cooking.

After dinner, Brennan decided that she would get to bed at a decent time that night since tomorrow was her day to work. She ambled outside after Booth as he took Daisy out.

"Why did you take her dress off today?" he asked. She'd been waiting for that question since they'd paid him a visit at work, and was mildly surprised that it was being asked now, at the end of the day.

"In case I got caught with her, I figured it would be less embarrassing if she wasn't wearing a purple dress when it happened."

"Makes sense."

"I thought so."

Daisy did her business, got excited by the praise she got from Booth, and led the way back inside, straight over to her treat bag. Before Brennan could protest before-bed treats, Booth had given her one and she had wolfed it down.

"If she messes indoors tonight, you're cleaning it up," she informed him.

"Fine by me. She just wanted a treat so bad and I can't say no to big brown eyes. Now, let's go to bed."

It was still relatively early. Brennan had wanted to stay up for at least another hour. But, she discovered that, like Booth, she couldn't say no to big brown eyes; his anyway. "Very well."

After changing, she carefully set the alarm on the clock for six in the morning. Daisy had balled herself up in between their pillows, waiting for Booth. He came out and crawled in on his side of the bed, slowly inching closer to her. "Are you tired Bones?" He punctuated the question with a light kiss on her mouth, followed by one on the pulse point at her throat.

She closed her eyes and let a small sigh escape. "I do need to get to sleep Booth. I have to get up in the morning, and I've been sleeping in lately. It's a bad habit to get into."

"Says you," he replied with a one sided grin before returning his lips to her throat and collarbone.

She scooted even closer to him and wound her arms around him. "I'm serious. I'm looking forward to being back tomorrow, and would like to spend the day awake and alert."

"That's what coffee's for." She felt his hands venture lower down her body, cupping her bottom and giving it a squeeze, pushing her lower body into his. She swatted his shoulder at the contact.

"Cut it out," It was half hearted and they both knew it. She made no move to pull out of his grasp, and placed a hand at the back of his head, pulling it to hers for a kiss. She felt his hands stroking up and down her back and she moaned against his mouth before pulling away slowly. She really did need to get to sleep, but one couldn't fight the moment.

She sat up in bed, about to pull her top over her head when she felt his hands on her shoulders, stopping the motion. "What?" she asked, puzzled. "I thought this was what you wanted. I want it too, if that's what you're wondering."

"It's not that Bones," he said softly, then pointed at Daisy.

"She's asleep, so?" Brennan couldn't see the problem. Daisy was in a ball, snoozing peacefully.

"We can't...in front of her," he explained.

She raised an eyebrow, amused and frustrated at the same time. "She's a dog Booth. She doesn't know."

"Still," he said, as though that ended the discussion.

Brennan just shook her head, a smile on her face. "You're unbelievable sometimes, you know that?" Although, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that Booth was reluctant to have sex in front of Daisy. She flopped back against the mattress and turned back to him, putting his hands back on her and kissing him again. He hadn't said anything about making out in front of the puppy after all.

**A/N: Hope you liked it! Next update will hopefully not be as long in coming as this one did. Thanks so much for all your wonderful comments! **


	11. plans and Madison St Clair

**A/N: For any of you who are keeping track, including this chapter, there are three left until the end of this fic. I'm getting bummed out about it already. But, enough with the bad stuff. On with the update! Enjoy!!**

**Chapter 11: Plans and Madison St. Clair**

_**Wednesday **_

Dr. Lance Sweets was hard at work. He tossed the rubber ball against the wall and caught it, mentally counting the number of times he'd done it successfully. "That's 54."

He repeated the action, which prompted a fist to bang against the wall he shared with the office next door. "Cut that out," followed by a mutter in a quieter tone, "Damn kid."

"I'm not a kid!" Sweets called back, but obliged his neighbor by cutting his aspirations for the _Guinness Book of World Records_ short. He turned his thoughts to his two favorite patients. How were Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth doing? He couldn't wait to see that video footage. It would no doubt reveal a lot.

His musings were interrupted by the telephone on his desk ringing. He reached over a hand and plucked it from the cradle. "Dr. Lance Sweets," he said by way of greeting.

It was Booth. "Agent Booth! Well, this is a pleasant surprise." What did he want? "You need me to babysit tonight? Why?" He knew exactly why. Booth needed alone time with Brennan. Sweets smiled to himself. It sounded as though things had escalated since the forced date Saturday night. He didn't have anything going on tonight, but wanted Booth to admit why he needed his babysitting services. Of course, he didn't.

"I'm sorry Agent Booth, but I can't babysit Daisy tonight. I have…" His eyes roamed his desk, looking for a quick excuse. They landed first on the rubber ball. No. His neighbor would probably murder him if he kept it up. Then, his gaze fixed on a brochure for a conference he was being forced to attend in the fall. "a conference. Yea, it's here in town, but it's gonna suck up my entire evening."

Yea, that'd work. Of course, he was lying, and yea, he should feel guilty about it, but he couldn't bring himself to feel the emotion. Booth should have told him the reason. "Yea, I really am sorry. I just can't get out of it. You know how it is. How are things with you and Dr. Brennan? I'm sure there have been quite a few changes in your relationship since you took Daisy home."

His only answer was a dial tone.

Daisy looked up at Booth from the couch as he paced in front of it. "Lousy Sweets and his stupid conference," he mumbled, going through the mental databank of people he knew. Rebecca was out because of her allergies. Anyone from work was out. Ex-girlfriends were big time out. One other person came to mind. "No, no, there has to be someone else." But there wasn't. She'd go crazy, but she was his only option. Angela.

He'd awoken that morning to find Brennan long gone. There was, as she had predicted, a small mess on the carpet of his bedroom, accompanied by a note in her handwriting telling him to 'clean me'. After doing so, he had found a pair of jeans and a dark green shirt folded up on a chair near the bathroom door, with another note. 'Wear me'.

After showering and getting dressed, he had eaten breakfast, finding another note on the table telling him that she'd taken care of Daisy before leaving, and that she'd see him soon. He'd taken this as a hint that he was supposed to pay her a visit at some point during the day.

"What's with all the notes?" he'd asked Daisy out loud. Not that he minded. It was actually very endearing. He'd then gone out to the living room where he found the Rolodex open to Sweets' number with another little note, this one reading, 'call me'. That had confused him for a minute, until it occurred to him that she wanted him to hit Sweets up for more babysitting. Which meant no Daisy, which meant…well, fun with Bones. He grinned wickedly at the thought and practically pounced on the phone, only to get turned down by the pre-pubescent shrink thanks to some stupid shrink conference.

And now it was down to Angela, who, like Sweets, would demand an explanation. And unlike Sweets, one could not deny Angela Montenegro a straight answer.

He eyed Daisy, who was still watching his pacing. "What do you think girl? Should we pay Mommy a visit? Sounds like she wants to see Daddy in the tight jeans she picked out." Daisy lifted up her ears at the word 'Mommy', but otherwise made no move to get off the couch, instead peeking over the edge of the couch and whining as though afraid of the height.

"Oh, come on, it's not like you've never jumped down before." Still, the puppy refused to jump down, looking up at him with those eyes of hers. Booth sighed and plucked her up off the couch, setting her down on the ground. "There, happy now?" Daisy's tail wagged to indicate that yes, she was happy now.

Booth clipped her leash on, grabbed the camcorder, and headed out to the car. Upon arriving, he noticed another message scrawled in the dust on the back windshield reading 'wash me'. "Ha, ha Bones. Very funny." He got Daisy settled in, recording her running back and forth from window to window, sniffing all the way.

Upon arriving at the Jeffersonian, Booth put Daisy under one arm, the camera in his free hand. He paused in front of the doors, noting the 'No dogs' sign. He shrugged once, and continued on, only to be confronted by Cam.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Visiting Bones. Got a problem?"

"Can you read?"

"Very well, as a matter of fact."

"Then you must have noticed the sign regarding dogs."

"I did, but chose to ignore it." He flashed her a smile. Cam remained unfazed.

"You can't come in with that dog."

"I'm already in," he pointed out, moving past her.

"Seeley, get back here! I'm not finished with you yet!"

"Then have me arrested Camille!" he called back, halfway to Brennan's office.

Cam sighed heavily before heading back to her work. If he got caught, she was professing ignorance.

Watching the scene between Booth and Cam, Brennan was ready for his entrance. Once he'd closed the door, he took a look at her and laughed aloud. "Something tells me this was not your idea Bones," he said.

"You're right. The original idea came from my parents. I remember my mother doing something like this for my father on their anniversary one year. Now, are you going to follow instructions or not?"

He placed Daisy on the ground, and took her hand, pulling her up from her chair and removing the 'kiss me' post-it from her forehead, placing his lips there instead, and moving them down her face until he covered her mouth with his own in an intense and demanding kiss. Daisy watched, tilting her head to the side.

A clatter sounded from outside the office and the two broke their kiss to stare at the commotion. Zach stood outside the office, carrying lab equipment in his arms, most of which was now strewn on the ground at his feet. He stooped to pick everything up, placing it on the nearest lab table, before babbling an apology that they couldn't really hear and clearing out as fast as he could go.

"I must admit, I didn't plan on being caught," Brennan said casually, as if it didn't really bother her. Turning to Booth and admiring him in the clothing she'd picked out, she said, "You really shouldn't have let Daisy be seen."

"I didn't have a shopping bag to put her in," he replied with a grin.

"Did you call Dr. Sweets?"

"Yea, he's got some sort of conference tonight. I was thinking of asking Angela to watch Daisy."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You'd do that? You know how she's going to react."

He moved a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's worth it." He gave her a quick kiss, and moved back to the door. "Watch Daisy while I talk to her, ok? If I'm not back in ten minutes…well, you know Angela." He disappeared behind the door, only to reappear a second later. "Keep Daisy away from Cam." Then he ducked out again.

Angela was sitting in her office, taking a bit of a break with a romance novel. While she was sure the plot was very interesting, there were other parts that took priority. Truth be told, she didn't really care if Madison St. Clair was going to lose her inheritance. What she did care about was how Robert "Mad Dog" Donovan's body felt pressed up against Madison's and how he could arouse her with only a look from his lust filled eyes.

She paused to fan herself vigorously with the book. Wow, this was hot. She slammed the book down on her desk as she heard her door open and shut. Whirling around to be faced with Booth, she smiled, hoping her face wasn't too flushed. "Hey Booth!" she said a little too excitedly.

"Hey. Is it hot in here?" It did seem a little warm.

"Yea, I gotta talk to the maintenance guys about this room. Something keeps screwing with the temperature." She said quickly, moving her hands over the front cover of the book. Booth caught the movement and peeked at the title and its accompanying raunchy picture.

"Innocence Lost, huh?" he said with a smirk.

"Yea, it's very deep reading," she replied, shoving the paperback into a desk drawer.

"I bet. Books with huge shirtless guys and women with their chests hanging out are usually pretty deep." He rubbed at the back of his neck with a hand, averting his eyes from hers.

"Sorry if I embarrassed you," she said.

"You didn't."

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "You're as flushed as I was when you first came in here. Now, what can I do for you?"

Glad for the change in subject, Booth asked the question. "I was wondering if you could babysit Daisy tonight."

Angela's mouth opened into a wide grin. "Of course! I've been wanting to see her!" The grin turned into a look of suspicion. "Why?"

And there it was. He looked at his shoes as though they might hold the answer. "Well, cause I wanted some time with Bones." He said it so quietly, Angela only heard the words 'wanted' and 'Bones'.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting anything so blunt." She stood up with a little jump and wrapped her arms around Booth in a friendly hug. "At last! I knew you wanted Bren! I'll be happy to watch Daisy for you, but why do you need her out of the house? She can't be that much trouble."

"She's not. But she won't sleep in her dog bed, and…" he trailed off, looking away from her yet again.

"Lemme guess. You won't have sex in front of her, right?"

She didn't require a verbal answer. His embarrassed look, lack of eye contact, flushed cheeks, and the hand on the back of the neck were more than enough to let her know she'd hit the nail on the head. "That's just crazy, but whatever. I'll do anything to make this a reality."

Booth hadn't wanted Angela to know so much, but in his defense, she had figured most of it on her own. Angela's sudden gasp made him whip his head around to face her. "What?"

"Omigod, I gotta go talk to Bren! You stay here! Girl talk!" And with that, she flew out her office door, making for Brennan's office as quickly as she could.

Left alone, Booth crashed in the recently vacated chair at Angela's desk, staring at the drawer he knew the trashy novel to be in. He turned his gaze around to the rest of the office. There was nothing else to keep him occupied until Angela returned. He opened the drawer and took out the book, staring in disgust at the front cover. No guy was that big. The man's chest looked like it was about to explode, and his head was ridiculously small in comparison.

The woman on the other hand, looked pretty good. Despite his earlier complaint to Angela, he didn't really have much of a problem with her breasts nearly popping out of her dress. In fact, he didn't have any problem with it at all. And if he squinted at her face, she almost looked like Bones. Bones with double D's. And blonde hair. And a not-quite-as-cute nose. Ok, so she looked nothing like his Bones. But then again, who did?

He flipped through the pages, finding the one Angela had dog-eared. He read the first paragraph, and his eyes steadily grew wider with every word he read. He took a breath and let it out quickly. This must be the part where Madison's innocence was truly lost. Wow.

Angela breezed into Brennan's office with a huge smile on her face, which threatened to grow even more when she saw Brennan at her desk with kiss swollen lips and a puppy in her arms.

"Sweetie! This is the best thing!" She enveloped her friend in a hug, then grabbed a startled Daisy, twirling her around the office.

"Ange? Are you ok?"

"I'm better than ok! I'm watching Daisy tonight so you and Booth can have your fun. Don't worry about a thing. I haven't been around a dog in awhile, but we'll be ok, won't we? God, she's sooo cute!"

"I'm assuming Booth talked to you then. I'm also assuming he told you too much."

"He didn't have to _tell_ me much of anything." She pulled up a chair in front of the desk. "Talk to me. Tell me everything."

"Ange…"

"Tell me or I won't watch Daisy," she threatened. She didn't mean it. Nothing could keep her from watching Daisy tonight. But Brennan didn't have to know that.

"Very well," and the whole story came out about the progression of their relationship.

Angela hugged Daisy to her as her friend talked. It was just so damned cute; all of it!

After leaving Brennan's office as if floating on a cloud, Angela walked back to her office. It was all so romantic. Not hot and heavy like the so called romance in her…

Her thoughts trailed off as she entered her office to find Booth engrossed in her paperback, leaning back in her chair with his feet propped up on her desk.

"Comfortable?" she asked.

"Mm," he grunted, not lifting his eyes from the book. Angela walked up behind him and read over his shoulder for a minute. He was in the middle of the scene she'd been reading.

"Told you it was deep reading," she said.

"Mm," he replied.

"I'll just leave you and the book alone for a little while longer." Angela chuckled as she left to go find Hodgins. Not that he'd necessarily be as interested in the Booth/Brennan relationship as she was, but she didn't care. He was finding out anyway.

When Booth forced himself to put the book down instead of flipping for more juicy scenes, he went back to Brennan's office to pick up Daisy.

"Where have you been?" she asked, taking in his arousal, obvious in those tight jeans, and the obvious look of lust in his dark eyes. It was almost predatory, as though he had thoughts of shoving everything off her desk and laying her down on it in plain sight of her co-workers. "Or do I want to know?"

"I was just doing some reading." He swallowed as he said the last word, as if the action would lessen the look of desire in his eyes and keep him from taking her then and there.

"And would this reading be anything of Angela's?"

"How'd you know?"

"She told me. She seemed to find it rather amusing. I, on the other hand, find it intriguing that a cheap romance novel could turn you on so much."

"I'm not…"

"Yes, you are." Her eyes looked their fill of him from head to toe.

"Well, you didn't read it." _And you didn't imagine us as the main characters_.

"You did what?"

Oh. He'd said that last part aloud. He grimaced as though a hand had slapped him.

"I should call Sweets right now. I mean, it must be significant that you're fantasizing about us taking on the roles of characters in a romance novel."

"No Sweets." He was adamant about that.

"Fine. Here. Daisy needs to go out, and although it was nice to see you, I need to get some work done. I'm so behind."

He took the squirming puppy she held out. She kissed him good-bye, then added, "I'll see you tonight." Then she whispered in his ear, "I can't wait." The sound of her voice and the feel of her breath on his ear sent a shudder through his body which was happily noted by Brennan.

After he'd exited with the puppy, Brennan drummed her fingernails on her desk. Yes, she had been telling the truth. She did have a lot of work to do. But, she was distracted by thoughts of that night. They wouldn't leave her alone. Finally, she rose from her desk and made her way to Angela's office. At the knock, her friend looked up. "Come in! Hey, sweetie, what's up?"

"Hi Ange. I was wondering if you were still reading that book."

"I stopped for awhile. It was like a sauna in here."

"May I borrow it?"

Angela gave her a wicked grin. "Knock yourself out. I'd start with the dog-eared page. That's where it gets really good." She winked and handed the book over to Brennan, who took it back to her office, ready to find out what the big deal was. It was just some cheap supermarket romance. She glanced at the cover, shaking her head. Unrealistic portrayal of the human body.

Taking Angela's advice, she flipped to the dog-eared page and began to read. Her heart began to beat faster and her breath caught in her throat. Wow.

**A/N: Hope you all liked it! Just kind of a playful chapter, just for fun. Of course, this entire fic has been just for fun!! Thanks for reading!**


	12. the appointment and the storm

**A/N: Wow, ok I'm still alive. I should be reading about the forbidden books of pre-revolutionary France, but decided to do this instead. I debated about upping the rating on this fic, but since it's fluffy and not smutty, I'm keeping it to a T. It's been way too long since I updated. Please accept my apologies and enjoy!**

**Chapter 12: the appointment and the storm**

_**Thursday**_

The next morning, Brennan awoke to the sound of a telephone. She cast her eyes around the room, searching for the source of the sound. Her gaze rested on the nightstand where her cell phone lay, vibrating and chirping. She groaned and grabbed at it, answering without checking the ID.

"Hello?" she said, coughing as her voice came out as more of a croak.

"Good morning Merry Sunshine," Angela's voice said loudly, evoking a throb from within Brennan's head.

"Ange, it's early."

"Sweetie, it's almost noon. I know you were busy last night, but-," she began only to be cut off by Brennan, who had finally noticed her bedmate from the night previous, perched in the corner, fully dressed and holding the camcorder, which was focused entirely on her.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing!?" she directed the question at him, but it was Angela who answered.

"Wow, aren't we a bear this morning! I am outside with a certain puppy. She's being so good, aren't you, you little cutie?"

"I'm sorry Ange, I wasn't directing that at you. Are you taking Daisy for a walk?"

"Yea, I'm on my way over to bring her back. I thought I'd give you some warning."

Brennan struggled to clear her head. It was still muddled from the events of last night. Oh, god, last night. She quickly looked down, relieved that the sheet was keeping her covered.

"I'll see you soon Ange," she hung up the phone and leaned down, picking up the first thing her hands found. She hurled the shoe at the corner, smiling smugly at the yelp that followed.

"Hey, Bones, what gives?"

"You were recording me sleeping! You're so lucky the sheet didn't fall when I answered the phone!"

"I wouldn't have complained if it had."

"Dr. Sweets wouldn't have either, now shut that thing off!"

He did so, a scowl etched on his face. "I was going to delete it anyway. No way anyone else is seeing you topless, especially Sweets."

Brennan sighed in frustration. "Don't. Just don't. If I wanted to take a photograph of myself topless and plaster it on every billboard within a hundred miles of here, I could."

"I wouldn't allow it."

"Don't make me prove my point. Just because we slept together and are trying out a relationship doesn't mean you have control over my actions." Her face softened at the look on his face. "Quit pouting and get over here." She patted the spot on the bed next to her.

He paused before getting in the bed next to her, staying on top of the covers and leaning against the headboard. "Was that Angela on the phone?"

Brennan planted a kiss on his lips before answering. "Yes. She's bringing Daisy over, which means I need to get up and get dressed. I didn't realize it was so late. You could have woken me."

"No I couldn't have. I was too busy recording you."

She smacked him lightly on the shoulder, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and got out of bed before he could grab her, pulling the sheet around her body as she did so.

"What's with the modesty Bones? Nothing I haven't already seen. And touched. And kissed. And loved." His eyes darkened at the memory and Brennan picked up on it, clutching the sheet tighter around her body.

"I'm not being modest. I just don't need distractions while I'm trying to get ready."

"I'm a distraction?"

"Yes, a big one. Now go do something to occupy yourself while I'm in the shower." She disappeared behind the door.

Once the water was on, she stepped under the warm spray. Last night had been wonderful, everything she had expected and more. She would have to remember to thank Angela for watching Daisy. Not that she should've had to in the first place. Booth's self consciousness about 

having the puppy in the same room was ridiculous. Not surprising, but ridiculous. They'd have to work on that. A frown creased her face and she shook her head, her wet hair flipping from side to side. What was she thinking? They were giving Daisy back to Sweets tomorrow. She would return to her own apartment and things would get back to normal.

Well, not quite. She had no intention of giving up her newfound sexual relationship with Booth. She didn't think she could. As for Daisy, she was sure she didn't have a problem returning her to Sweets, but would Booth? He was attached to her; that much was obvious.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Brow furrowing, Brennan peeked from behind the curtain. "Angela will be here any minute!" she called, reaching for a wet washcloth and hurling it at the crack in the door where the camera lens peeked. This time she missed, and the washcloth plopped in a wet ball on the bathroom rug. The lens withdrew with a mumbled apology.

No sooner had she gotten dressed and emerged from the bathroom when there was a knock at the door. Booth answered while Brennan moved to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Angela came through the door, holding a brown ball of puppy who was wriggling furiously to be put down. The second Angela placed her on the ground, Daisy raced over to Booth, standing on her back legs and jumping to be picked up.

As soon as he did so, she attacked his face, licking like her life depended on it. Brennan ran back to the bedroom and grabbed at the camcorder, getting as much of the reunion recorded as she could. Once Daisy had calmed down, Booth held her out to his partner. She traded him, the camcorder for Daisy, and got the same treatment from the puppy as he had. Brennan put Daisy on the floor as Booth moved to her, kissing her tenderly, the other presence in the room momentarily forgotten.

Angela watched the scene, a smile on her face and a sigh on her lips. "This is all so unbelievably cute," she said aloud. Both turned to look at her. Throats were cleared, eyes focused on feet. Angela shook her head and put a hand in her jacket pocket. "Bren, I brought something for you." She looked at Booth. "Or maybe it's for you. Whatever." She handed Booth a small rectangular object.

"Innocence Lost?" Booth looked at the picture of Madison St. Clair and Robert "Mad Dog" Donovan and held it by the corners, looking embarrassed. "Why would I want this thing?"

"Because, out of the three of us, I think you enjoyed it the most. I marked all the good spots. Maybe it'll give you some ideas." She grinned wickedly and winked. "I have to go. I'm supposed to meet a friend for coffee in an hour. Bye!" She waved and breezed out, leaving Booth still holding the corner of the book. Brennan snatched it out of his hand and began flipping through it.

"There are a lot of marks in this book," she commented, pausing to read a paragraph. "This might be fun."

Booth snatched it back. "She gave it to me," he said, reading the same paragraph she had. "Fun for who?"

"Me, of course."

"I refuse to do anything that a cheap romance novel suggests. I can come up with plenty of fun original things that'll blow your mind."

Brennan folded her arms across her chest. "Such as?"

Booth copied her stance and thought for a moment. "Well, like…such as…Damn, all I can think about is that stupid book, but rest assured I have plenty of ideas. I just need to focus." He glanced up at the clock. "Hey, weren't we supposed to do something today?"

"I think you're right." They both glanced to the refrigerator where a note was held to the door by a magnet.

_Daisy- Vet Thurs 1:30_

They both looked from the note to the clock, then began scrambling around, getting ready to go. Booth grabbed car keys and Brennan picked her purse up from the coffee table. They dashed out the door, making for the car. Daisy glanced at the door, her head cocked and her ears at attention. She didn't like being left alone. Then she heard Brennan's voice in the hallway.

"Booth?"

"Yea? Come on Bones, we're late."

"Forget something?"

A pause.

"Damn it!"

Daisy felt relief as she heard the key in the lock. The door opened and she was scooped up and rushed out to the car. She knew they wouldn't leave her. They were family after all.

At the vet's office, Booth checked Daisy in and slumped in the chair next to Brennan.

"You see Booth. There was no need to drive like a maniac. They're behind."

"I didn't drive like a maniac."

"You turned the siren on! That was uncalled for."

"Was not." He crossed his arms, that pouty face returned, and Brennan wondered briefly if Booth had gotten the face from his son or if it was the other way around.

"I'm just putting things into perspective. You wouldn't turn the siren on to get to a crime scene but you'll do it to get to the vet's office quicker."

"It wasn't just getting to a crime scene Bones. You wanted to beat Cam."

"Point taken, but we also would have gotten there faster. Everyone would have won." She adopted a similar pout and crossed her own arms.

"Why are we even arguing about this?" Booth said putting Daisy on his lap after a man entered the office with a large dog.

"We're not arguing. As I stated earlier, I'm simply putting things in perspective."

"You were arguing."

"No I wasn't!"

"You are now. You're arguing about whether or not we were arguing."

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too, and now you're also continuing it. It takes two to argue Booth."

Any reply from Booth was interrupted by the vet calling for Daisy.

"So this is Daisy Jo, huh?" The vet took the little puppy from Booth and placed her on the cold stainless steel exam table. Daisy's nails skittered on the surface, looking for something to grip. She didn't like this. She tried to make her way back to Booth, but was held in place by strong, yet gentle hands.

The vet checked Daisy's heart and lungs, then her eyes and ears. "She seems very healthy." He weighed her on a nearby scale then placed her back on the table. Daisy turned big brown eyes on the man holding her. The vet was unmoved. He had seen many pairs of pleading eyes in his career. Daisy gave up and looked at Booth. Brown met brown and it was all Booth could do to keep from snatching Daisy away from her well intentioned tormentor and taking her home.

The worst was yet to come. Daisy needed her shots. The vet looked from Booth to Brennan. Brennan looked normal, but Booth looked as though as he was going to punch the vet in the face and make a run for it with Daisy. The vet turned to Brennan. "Hold her in place please, while I prepare the injections."

Brennan put both hands on Daisy, tightening her hold as the puppy squirmed against the table. The vet pulled out the needles. Brennan turned to Booth. "Are you ok?" He looked a little pale as soon as he saw the needles.

"He's gonna stick her with those?"

"Of course. That's how it's done."

"But they're so big, and she's so little and she's scared."

"Perhaps you should wait out front Booth?" Brennan suggested.

"No, no, I'm fine." He swallowed and kept his eyes on the puppy as she got her shots. As soon as it was over, the vet took her and handed her to Booth. The puppy clung to him, plastering herself to his chest and digging her claws into him. Brennan turned to the vet.

"Thank you."

"Of course. Don't worry, she'll be fine." He gave Daisy a few soft pats and moved into the front room, leaving the three in the exam room.

Brennan stroked Daisy's head. "You heard him. She'll be fine." She gave Booth's shoulder a pat and followed the vet out the door.

Once back home, Booth put Daisy on the floor. She remained glued to his side, however, following him to the couch and jumping on his lap. Brennan glanced at them. "You have dog hair all over you," she said quietly.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It's ok. She was scared after all." He stroked Daisy's back, scratching her ears. He glanced over at Brennan and motioned to the place next to him. She sat down next to him and reached over to join him in petting Daisy.

"You did well today. I'm proud of you both," she said, leaning close to him and nuzzling his neck.

He closed his eyes at the contact and the feel of her warm breath on his skin. He opened them again as her words registered. "Both of us?"

"Well, yes. For a minute there, I was certain you were going to have a psychotic episode and hurt the vet. You didn't, therefore I'm proud of you. You didn't like seeing Daisy scared; I understand that. You've become attached to her."

"You haven't?"

Brennan considered. "I suppose I have, to a point. Tomorrow afternoon is our appointment with Dr. Sweets. We'll have to give her up."

She heard him sigh heavily, the hand that wasn't petting Daisy moving up to stroke her hair. "I don't think I can Bones." He said it so quietly she wouldn't have heard him if she hadn't been so close.

"I know." She didn't know what else to say. They couldn't keep her. Booth couldn't keep her. Could he? Brennan shoved the question from her mind, and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Daisy jumped down to the floor and went in the kitchen for a drink, and Brennan felt her embrace being returned.

"What do you want to do the rest of the day?" she asked.

"I want to spend it with Daisy. Playing with her, taking her to the park, ya know, just being with her."

She couldn't be sure, but she thought she heard his voice catch. When Daisy returned from the kitchen, her leash was clipped on. Growing excited, she led them to the door, eager for a walk. Brennan grabbed her ball from where it lay on the floor and they set off for the park.

Once there, they found a patch free of people and pets and took turns tossing the ball for Daisy. Some of the time, when it was thrown, she took off on her little legs and brought it back to whoever had thrown it, the round orb clenched in her teeth. Other times, she made them chase her. It was her idea of a great time. They kept this up for about a half hour.

"Can we take a break Booth?" Brennan asked.

"Come on Bones, just a little while longer. Look at her, she's having fun. She'll tire out soon."

Daisy, in fact, didn't tire out. She seemed to have an inexhaustible amount of energy. She raced back and forth, showing no signs of wanting to rest. Even after Booth and Brennan collapsed in the grass, the puppy continued running, weaving around them with the ball.

"This dog is pure energy," Brennan commented. "I know it's impossible, but there's the proof." She gestured vaguely to the puppy, who had jumped on Booth, walking back and forth across him, her tail wagging.

Booth put both hands around the puppy, stilling her constant movements. He pushed her behind down, putting her in a sitting position. "Relax for a minute ok Daisy? Daddy needs to rest, then we'll run around some more." Daisy tilted her head, eyeing Booth to make sure he was serious. He was. She lay down and seemed to relax. Then her eyes caught sight of her ball, resting in the grass next to Brennan. She took a running leap off Booth and grabbed her ball in her mouth, carrying it over to Brennan's head and setting it down.

"All right, all right." Brennan pulled herself to her feet and picked up the ball. She gave it a toss, and Daisy took off after it. Brennan followed, stepping over Booth as she went.

"Don't lay there for long," she called out to him, receiving a groan in reply.

When she came back from running around with Daisy, she stood over him shaking her head. He was asleep. Brennan glanced up at the sky. The clouds were moving in. It was going to rain, and soon. She carried Daisy to a nearby shelter and sat down on a bench, keeping an eye on the still figure nearby.

Soon, the sky was dark and the heavens opened. Brennan was rewarded for her patience by a loud surprised yell from where she'd left Booth asleep. The downpour was accompanied by a loud roll of thunder. Daisy burrowed into Brennan's shirt at the noise, receiving comforting pets. Her drenched partner stomped over to the shelter, giving her a glare. "Thanks for waking me up Bones."

"You're welcome."

"You didn't even try did you?"

"No, I didn't. You look good when you're asleep. So peaceful. And you also look good when you're wet. A no lose situation."

"For you maybe," he grumbled, shaking his head, the action pelting her and Daisy with water droplets. "Sorry Daisy. Daddy didn't mean to get you wet. I know you don't like to be wet."

"What about me? You got me wet too."

"Sorry," he said quickly, clearly not meaning it. At her look, he gave her a charm smile. "You're fine Bones. Besides, I know for a fact that you like be-…"

She cut him off with a smile. "No double entendres please." She grabbed his collar to bring him down to her level, kissing him and licking the rainwater from his lips. "Sit," she ordered.

He did so, and they watched the storm, taking turns with Daisy every time a clap of thunder sounded.

"Sorry your day got cut short," Brennan said as they walked back after the sun peeked through the dark clouds.

"Don't be. It was a good day, getting drenched by the storm excepted." He put an arm around her waist, pulling her closer as they walked.

Brennan thought back on the day. "I suppose it was a pretty good day."

"You want me to cook?"

"If you want to. I thought I might if you wanted to sit with Daisy."

"Thanks Bones. I'd like that."

After the three had eaten dinner, Brennan cleaned up in the kitchen. Turning around, she saw Booth sprawled out on the couch, asleep again with Daisy curled up on his chest, also asleep. A small smile found its way to her lips and she silently slipped past them to the bedroom where the camcorder sat. She made her way back with it and sat in a kitchen chair, recording the scene. She 

zoomed in on each of them in turn, and when she was satisfied with her footage, she shut the camera off, but remained in her seat, just watching them.

In the end, she didn't have the heart to wake them. Hopefully Daisy would be ok. She'd gone out not too long ago. Brennan shut the lights off, giving Daisy a soft pet on the head and Booth a kiss on the forehead before going down the hall to the bedroom. It had been a very good day. Hopefully, tomorrow wouldn't be too hard.

**A/N: Hopefully, people are still reading. It's been a long time since I updated. Yikes. Next chapter will be the last one. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Goodbyes and Hellos

**A/N: Well, here we are at the end. Bittersweet for me, cause I love writing this fic! All fluff is good for me. But on the other hand, I also feel a sense of satisfaction that I've actually been able to finish a fic. I'll shut up now and let you read the update! Enjoy!**

**Chapter 13: Goodbyes and Hellos**

_**Friday**_

When Booth woke up, he was still on the couch; Daisy was still curled up on his chest. He squinted at the microwave clock in the other room. Four o'clock. Too early to get up. He absently stroked Daisy, who stirred at his touch but didn't wake up. Their appointment with Sweets was that afternoon. They'd have to pack up all her stuff. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about it yet.

Instead, he lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling, wondering if it would be possible to keep Daisy. He wouldn't be home as much though. It would be difficult for her to adjust. As his internal debate waged on, he heard Brennan's voice from the darkened hallway.

"Hey."

"Hey. How long have you been there?"

"Not long. I couldn't sleep."

"Me either. Come here." He pushed himself into a sitting position on the couch, cradling Daisy with one hand so she wouldn't fall over. Once Brennan had seated herself next to him he put an arm around her and sighed as her head nestled into his shoulder.

"You're gonna keep her aren't you?" she asked quietly, gently scratching the puppy's ears.

"I'm seriously thinking about it. I know I won't be around as much, but if we give her back to Sweets, she'll think we're abandoning her."

Brennan stifled a yawn and lifted her head to kiss him. "If you did decide to keep her, I'm sure she'd adjust to being alone some of the time."

"You think I should?"

"I think you should do what's best for Daisy and what makes you happy."

"I want to keep her."

"Ok then. You can tell Sweets when we go to our appointment."

Booth nodded, feeling a lot better now that he'd made a final decision. He looked at the puppy in his lap and the woman snuggled next to him. He was just missing Parker. If his son were here, he'd have everything he'd ever need. Relaxing, his eyes closed and he drifted back to sleep.

When he next woke up, the sun was shining through the opened blinds, there was a mug of fresh coffee in front of him on the coffee table and Daisy was in the kitchen, eating a late breakfast. The woman responsible for all this was sitting at the kitchen table, absently paging through the newspaper and sipping from her own mug of coffee. Feeling his eyes on her, she turned around.

"Oh, you're up. Good late morning."

"Same to you. What time is it?"

"A quarter after eleven."

He nodded slowly, rising from the couch and heading to his bedroom, stopping to kiss her on his way.

"When's our appointment with Sweets?"

"At three," she replied. "He called about an hour ago, reminding us to bring the camera, Daisy, and all her stuff."

"Did you tell him I was keeping her?"

"No, it's your decision; you should tell him. We should still bring her though. He'll want to see her. She's made some progress since he saw her last."

"I was thinking that, maybe, we could 'forget' the camera" he said, an innocent expression on his face.

"That had occurred to me as well, but I think Sweets would just send one of us back for it. He seemed almost giddy when he talked about recording our interactions. I'm sure he's looking forward to seeing the footage, as am I."

"You are?"

She shrugged and took another sip from her mug. "Yes, I'm curious to see the progression of our own relationship. I'm not looking forward to Sweets' reaction to it, however." Her eyes grew cloudy as she imagined some of the comments Sweets would make.

"I'll kick his skinny ass if he gets too annoying," Booth muttered, standing behind her, his fingers running affectionately through her hair.

"Only if I don't get to him first."

He grinned at her reply, dropped a light kiss on the top of her head, and continued his journey to the bedroom. Daisy, who'd finished eating, yipped and took off after him. Brennan returned to her paper, scanning the articles but not actually reading them.

When he came back into the living room, showered, dressed, and carrying Daisy, Brennan moved to the couch and patted the spot beside her. He plopped down next to her and eyed Daisy's bed and bowls in the kitchen. "Should we pack up her stuff? It seems kind of pointless."

"It's up to you. She's staying with you. Although, I may sue for shared custody." She smiled at him, a teasing glint in her eye.

"I think we could work something out," he replied, pulling her close and nuzzling her neck. She sighed and leaned closer, shivers coursing through her body as she felt his lips and tongue caress her throat.

When he lifted his head up, her teasing smile was back in place. "I want every. Other. Week," she said bluntly, tapping his nose with her finger as she said each word.

"You drive a hard bargain. How about every other weekend?"

"Not good enough."

"If you want every other week, then you need to sweeten the deal." He looked at her expectantly.

"I'll buy every bag of dog food, plus pay to have her spayed," she bargained.

He shook his head. "Not quite there yet Bones."

She thought for a moment, petting Daisy's head as she did, her other hand absently running back and forth over Booth's thigh. "Ok. Final offer. When it's my week with her, we'll visit often, and stay over one night."

"I can live with that."

"You'd better, because that's all I'm offering."

"It's a deal," he said, kissing her to seal it. "I'm gonna take her for a walk. You wanna come?" he asked, stilling her roaming hand by placing his atop it.

"No, you two go ahead. I'll stay here and relax a bit." She gripped the remote and flipped the channel to cartoons.

"What is it with you and cartoons lately?"

"They're actually quite fascinating. Laws and rules have no place in cartoons. For example, a large talking rabbit can engage in an argument with an equally large talking duck and in the next instant they can both travel underground via the rabbit's underground network and end up in the Himalayas where they encounter a talking yeti. Anything goes, and that's refreshing."

"I never thought of Bugs Bunny that way before." He grinned. "Do Tom and Jerry."

She frowned at him, but complied, drawing in a deep breath. "Well, the cat and mouse dynamic certainly occurs in nature but the cat would definitely have the upper hand due to its superior predatory instincts. Jerry would be long dead. Of course, he has the help of an unlimited arsenal that he just pulls out of nowhere. Explosives, knives, you name it, Jerry has it either in his small mouse hole or apparently in some sort of hidden pocket on his person, which I find hard to believe since he's obviously nude. Which brings me to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Mickey wears pants and no shirt, but Donald wears a shirt and no pants…"

Booth cut her off. "Ok, Bones, just breathe. You enjoy your cartoons and Daisy and I will be back to get ready for the appointment with Sweets."

He grabbed Daisy's leash, clipping it on and leaning down to brush his lips against Brennan's. "We'll see you later." Brennan returned his kiss, standing and wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

After releasing him, she watched the puppy leading him to the door, and after it shut behind them, she crashed back down on the couch, focusing on the bright colors on the TV screen. She was engrossed in The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, making a mental list of the bones the Grim Reaper was lacking, when the phone rang. It was Booth's home phone so she was unsure about picking it up, but her curiosity won out and she put the hand set to her ear.

"Hello?"

Angela. "Why are you calling this phone instead of my cell phone?"

"Because," came her friend's happy voice. "I wanted to see if you would pick up his phone. And you did!"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing, I just wanted to say hi. So 'hi'."

"Hi Ange."

"What's on the agenda for today? Maybe a little more lovin' with Booth? I'll take Daisy again."

"We have an appointment with Dr. Sweets in a couple hours. Booth's decided to keep Daisy."

"Really!? That's great! I love that little ball of fur; she's so adorable! I've gotta go. I can feel Cam breathing down my neck. I'll see you tomorrow!" She hung up and Brennan clicked the phone off, replacing it in its cradle, suddenly feeling eager to get to work and get back into her normal routine. As much as she loved staying at Booth's, she missed her own apartment, her own things. Maybe she'd have to get a television though. A small one. With all the cartoon channels. She switched the TV off. A ridiculous pastime and she was being sucked into it.

Looking for something else to do, her eyes rested on the table by the door, upon which lay the book Angela had given to Booth. Well, it wasn't the best reading material, but it was preferable at the moment to more television. She picked it up and lay on the couch, her head resting against the arm, her feet crossed at the ankles. She opened the book to a random page and began to read.

By the time Booth and Daisy returned, 'Innocence Lost' had worked its magic on Brennan. He led the puppy inside, eyes resting on the woman lying on her back, the book closed and resting on her chest. "Is it hot in here, or is it just me?" he asked.

"It must be you," she said, winking at him with hooded eyes. He noticed which book she'd been reading, and shook his head slowly. Bending to unhook Daisy's leash he felt her come up behind him, letting out a little yelp as she squeezed his ass.

"Bones!"

"What?" she asked; the picture of wide eyed innocence. He turned to face her and her arms snaked around him, pulling him closer. As their bodies made contact, he drew in a sharp breath and Brennan began rubbing herself against him. Daisy's leash dropped from his hand as he returned her embrace. Her lips found his in a hungry kiss which she broke abruptly.

"I need you. Now," she said quietly, taking his hand and dragging him down the hallway to his bedroom. Booth, however, remained in place, using every ounce of self control he possessed to do so.

"We should get ready to go. We'll be late for our appointment."

Her eyes flashed. "Forget Sweets. It doesn't matter if we're late. Come on. Now!" She was border line frightening. This time, he followed obediently, discovering a new fondness for Angela's paperback. Having taken him completely by surprise, she was in control and he found he was enjoying it immensely and more than willing to let it continue. Although a bit scary, her aggressiveness was also a major turn on. Daisy followed behind them, barely slipping in the room before the door shut.

Moments later, Booth's voice could be heard. "Bones, Daisy followed us in."

Brennan's exasperated voice replied, "Booth, you have to get used to her being around. What are we going to do when I bring her overnight during my week with her? You're being irrational and you have to get over it. Now get over here."

Several minutes later, the door opened and Booth came out, shirtless with his pants undone, carrying Daisy. He walked quickly with her into the kitchen, ignoring Brennan's voice calling out after him. "Sooner or later, we'll have to do it in front of her Booth. You can't avoid it forever!"

He placed her in front of her food bowl and gave her some food. It was only early afternoon, but a snack couldn't hurt. She'd probably just eat a little less at dinner with Sweets. Once the puppy was happily munching away, he patted her head and raced back to the bedroom.

Dr. Lance Sweets glanced at his watch. They were late. And not just fashionably late either. They were never late, except maybe a couple of minutes here and there. Sweets' eyes started to close. He'd had a long night. They snapped open as the knob on his office door turned and Brennan and Booth came in, Daisy behind them.

"Nice of you both to join me," Sweets said, managing a smile. He was surprised when it was Booth who apologized.

"Sorry we're late Sweets. Let's get down to business."

"I agree, let's see the footage." He held out his hand for the camera Brennan was holding. She handed it over and the two sat down. Daisy immediately jumped into Booth's lap and settled down. After rewinding the tape, Sweets hit the playback button and the three watched the little screen.

By the time they'd watched the entire tape, Sweets' eyes were huge and his smile was a mile long. He'd clapped his hands several times throughout, laughing at their water fight and Booth's blushing. Booth was tempted to wipe the smile off his face with his fist, his entire body tensing throughout the viewing. Only Brennan's hand placed casually on his knee calmed him, keeping him from releasing that tension on Sweets.

Sweets shut the camera off and took a deep breath. "Wow. Well, I can honestly say that this project has been a resounding success. You both developed a positive relationship with Daisy, one that grew at a pretty fast pace. Not to mention your relationship with one another. That's grown too, from the looks of the footage. Would I be correct in saying that you two have taken it to the next level? Because the footage says 'yes'."

The two looked at one another, and then Brennan answered. "You would be correct Dr. Sweets."

"I thought so. Unfortunately, we don't have time to delve into that today since you two were so late, but rest assured we'll discuss your relationship next week. Now, if you'll just give me Daisy, you're free to go."

Brennan glanced at Booth. His hand had gone around Daisy, holding her protectively. "I want to keep her Sweets. You can't have her back."

Sweets paused as this sunk in. He hadn't taken notice before now, but they hadn't brought any of Daisy's supplies with them. He scratched his head.

"Well, I certainly didn't foresee the bond being this strong. An oversight on my part. I apologize. You can't keep her Agent Booth. She's part of a litter of puppies belonging to my sister. She's expecting her back." He looked genuinely regretful. "My niece wanted to keep one, and there is only one left besides Daisy and since she's house trained now…" he trailed off, unable to look the other man in the eye.

Brennan, however, did, and saw the disappointment there. She laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Booth bit his lip and sighed. "I understand Sweets." He picked up Daisy, holding her close, then said his goodbyes. She licked his face, and he handed her over to Brennan who ruffled the puppy's ears affectionately.

"Good-bye Daisy. It was fun having you around." She went to hand her back to Booth, who shook his head, not wanting to be the one to hand her off to Sweets. Brennan handed the squirming puppy to the psychoogist. Daisy looked with big brown eyes, wriggling in Sweets' arms, as her family left the office, out of her life.

Pausing in the hallway, Brennan glanced back at the office door. She turned to Booth. "You go on. I'll catch up." She leaned against him for a moment then headed back the way they'd come. He made no move to follow her, just continued on his way outside.

Brennan opened the door to Sweets' office to see him struggling to keep a grip on Daisy. They both looked up at the sound of her clearing her throat. "Dr. Brennan," Sweets said in acknowledgement. Daisy broke free and dropped to the floor, running to Brennan who scooped her up, holding her with one arm while walking up to Sweets.

She pierced his gaze with fiery eyes, irritation evident in their stormy depths. "This was a really stupid idea Dr. Sweets. Next time you do something like this, take feelings into account. You hurt someone I care about and I'm not going to forget that." She handed Daisy back to him, spun on her heel, and left, slamming the door behind her to emphasize her mood.

They went back to Booth's apartment in silence. He didn't ask what she'd done when going back to Sweets' office and she didn't offer the information. When they arrived back he walked around, picking up Daisy's things and placing them inside a box to take to Sweets the next day. After this was completed, he slumped on the couch and absently flipped through TV channels, resting on Animal Planet.

Brennan, cleaning up after dinner in the kitchen, peered out, seeing what he was watching. He had dogs on the brain. "Hey, why don't you watch something else? When I looked at the television schedule earlier, I noticed there was a hockey game on tonight. You like that, right?"

"You don't."

"That's ok. I'll watch it with you if you want. You can explain everything to me," she said hopefully. That would take his mind off Daisy, plus give him a much needed ego boost that he knew things she didn't.

"Maybe."

"Booth, come on. We could probably visit her. We'd have to discuss it with Sweets' sister, but I bet we could work something out."

"I lose everyone I love," he muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I barely see Parker, and I lose Daisy. Who's next, you?"

Silence followed. Then Brennan's voice floated to his ears, speaking quietly. "You love me?"

He didn't reply, instead staring at his hands. She crossed over to the couch and sat facing him, cross legged, gripping his chin lightly in her hand and pushing up on it, forcing him to face her. His eyes remained averted.

"Look in my eyes Seeley Booth and answer my question," she said with gentle authority. Finally, his eyes met hers.

"I love you."

She drew him closer to her, hugging him tightly, and thinking over the past week. Mind made up, she replied, "I love you too, and you are most definitely not going to lose me."

He pulled away slightly from her embrace, surprise etched onto his features. "You love me?"

"That's what I said."

He cupped her face with one hand and brought it closer to his, initiating a long and passionate kiss that was returned just as eagerly by Brennan. His other hand went around her back, inching up her shirt and rubbing up and down her spine while her hands ran through his hair, gently pulling at the short soft strands. He pushed forward, causing her to lean back until she was lying against the couch with him on top of her, his arms on either side of her, keeping most of his weight off her body. The kisses continued, getter more frenzied with each moment.

Brennan was in the process of unbuttoning his shirt when a sharp knock came from the door. Booth kissed her softly once more before moving off her and going to the door, pulling it open to reveal Sweets on the other side with Daisy.

"Was I interrupting something?" the psychologist asked, taking in Booth's tousled hair and half unbuttoned shirt.

"None of your business. Why are you here?" Daisy squirmed in Sweets' arms, stretching toward Booth. He took her and got a face bath from the puppy, who immediately settled down now that she was where she wanted to be.

"I called my sister, and Lisa's become attached to the other puppy and wants him now, so Daisy's…available."

"Are you saying I can keep her?"

"Yes."

Brennan came up behind him, throwing Sweets a curt nod in greeting. Booth turned to her, a huge smile on his face. "I can keep her Bones!"

"Good," Brennan replied, shooting a small grin in Sweets' direction. It was returned, and Booth turned back to Sweets.

"Thanks Sweets. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Daisy was very unhappy about it, as were you, so I thought I should see if you keeping her was a possibility." He didn't mention how Brennan had cemented his decision. "If you'll both excuse me, I have an appointment soon. I'll see you two next week when we'll discuss your relationship."

The last half of his sentence was spoken to the door, which had shut in his face after something was thrust in his hands. Sweets looked down. A paperback book rested in his grip.

"Innocence Lost?" Whatever. Nodding with a smile on his face, Sweets turned and headed out of the building.

Everything was back to almost perfect in Booth's world. He was in bed, holding the woman he loved in his arms, hers around him. Daisy was curled up at the foot of the bed, sound asleep, still near them, but giving them a little space. He sighed happily as Brennan's head burrowed into his shoulder. It had been a good day overall, the ending of a good week, and hopefully, a sign of more to come.

**A/N: Ta da! I hope the wait was worthwhile. Thank you to all who read and all who left wonderful reviews! I appreciated them all. **


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